


Adventures in the Slow Path

by thatwritergirl



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-27
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-07 20:12:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 25,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11631045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatwritergirl/pseuds/thatwritergirl
Summary: The slow path of Tentoo and Rose Tyler.





	1. Earthly Customs

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Doctor Who.

It had been two years since they shared that kiss on Dålig Ulv Stranden, Bay Wolf Bay in Norway. The initial sting of being left on that beach was equally hard on both of them, but after they realized that he did it because he wanted them to be happy, with each other, the way he couldn’t be, it made it better.

For a while, this Doctor felt abandoned by his only family member. Definitely the last of his kind, now. Rose felt unwanted and unloved by the man she’d grown to love and spent so long searching for.

Rose was consoled by the man who shared his face, his thoughts and his feelings. Soon, she came to realize that this Doctor, the man who was now her true Doctor, had the same, if not more, love in his one heart than the Time Lord Doctor had in two. He did in fact share everything the other Doctor did prior to his “birth”. He was the same man. A man who was taking his own path in life. The slow path.

* * *

It was hard for them to celebrate their first anniversary, because it was the last time they would ever see him again, but it was also the day they became officially domestic. They learned to live with it and even though they both still thought of him, they were happy.

The part-human Doctor had a feeling that his counterpart had regenerated. Something changed in him when it happened. He knew that feeling, even though for the first time in his very long life, he didn’t have to live through the glowing pain.

The Doctor wondered how he looked, how he acted, what he wore. He suspected that he would wear something silly, because he had done leather jackets and pin-striped suits and after losing Rose, he knew he’d have to be silly to mask the pain. He remembered how it felt to lose her and he counted his blessings every day, because she was his — as short as a lifetime was, they’d share it and it would be fantastic.

* * *

On the eve of their second anniversary, the Doctor made an appointment with Rose’s stepfather, Pete Tyler. Pete was a very busy man, being the owner of Vitex and the head of Torchwood. Although, technically her stepfather, Pete considered Rose his daughter and Rose considered him her dad.

He accepted the Doctor right away and to the Doctor’s surprise, so did Jackie.

The Doctor knocked on Pete’s office door.

“I have to get off here, Jake. The Doctor’s coming by for a visit. Yeah, I’ll call you later. K, bye. Come on in, Doctor.”

“Pete! How’re things?”

“Oh, well you know. Another day at Torchwood. Never a dull moment, is it?”

“Hardly. No dull days in the Tyler clan, for sure. How’re Jackie and my buddy, Tony doing?”

“Good, good. Tony keeps asking when you’ll stop by for a game of football. I tell him you’re very busy, but he’ll have none of it, I’m afraid. You should pop in next chance you get. Jackie’ll be thrilled to fix you a cup of tea, I’m sure.”

“Do love a good cup o’ tea. ‘Specially Jackie’s. Woman can’t boil water without burning it, but she can make a mean cuppa,” the Doctor said, not really to Pete, but more in a reminiscent way.

“I won’t confirm or deny the cooking statement, but I do agree about the tea,” Pete said with a chuckle. “So! What can I do for you, Doctor?”

“Well, I’m not all too familiar with Earthly customs, especially not in your world, but I figured that this would be appreciated anyway. I’d like to ask you for a favor. Would it be at all possible for you to grant me Rose’s hand in marriage?”

Pete sat back in his chair. He didn’t have a telling look, but he was contemplating his answer. The Doctor thought this would be a doozy. Pete liked him, he liked Pete. Why was it, then, that Pete had to think about it?

“Under one condition.”

The Doctor scooted to the edge of the very comfortable chair he was sitting in, suddenly feeling quite uncomfortable.

“Oh, and what is that?” The Doctor finally responded.

“It’s not really a condition so much as a request. The answer is ‘yes,’ regardless, by the way. When Jackie came here to be with me, she brought over her engagement and wedding rings that she had with her first husband. She told me that she wanted to give it to Rose one day and that she hoped Rose would wear it and that she would want it, even though she didn't know her dad very well.

“If you would like, I could arrange for you to get it from Jackie and if you haven’t gotten a ring already, you could use it to propose to Rose with. I bought Jackie another one when she agreed to marry me. I understand if you don’t want to do that, but I know it would mean a lot to Jackie.”

“Pete Tyler, I would be honoured and provided Rose agrees to marry me, I know she will be honoured too.”

The Doctor stood and they shook hands.

“I’m going to call Jackie and tell her to expect you.”

“Thank you. It means the world and I’ve seen some worlds.”

They both chuckled. As the Doctor walked out of Pete’s office, he heard Pete’s side of the conversation with Jackie.

“Jacks, the Doctor is stopping by to get the ring. I know. It is about time. Calm down! Let Rose say ‘yes’ first before you go out buying magazines and things. Okay. See you for dinner. Love you too.”

The Doctor smiled and made his way out of the building and to his hopefully soon-to-be mother-in-law’s house.


	2. Last Minute Details

The Doctor pulled up to the Tylers’ mansion and before he could even get out of his car, Tony ran outside and tackled him.

“Mum told me you were coming! Wanna play a game? Football or Legos?”

“Sure! But after I talk to your mum, okay?”

“Okay, but don’t forget!”

“I won’t.”

He walked into the house, Tony running past him. Jackie emerged from the dark entrance.

“Slow down and no running in the house! Boy idolises you. I blame Rose for all the stories she told him. He thought you were a fairy tale. Anyway, hello, Sweetheart. It’s nice to see you.” She hugged him and gestured for him to follow her to the kitchen.

“Hi, Jackie. Nice to see you too. How have you been?”

“Good. How is my daughter doing? Haven’t seen her in a bit.”

“She’s brilliant. Been busy at Torchwood. She’s looking for a new assistant, because the old one quit.”

“Tell her to visit her old mum, will ya?”

“Of course. Hopefully she’ll be around a lot soon. Planning a wedding is a mother/daughter thing, isn’t it?”

“I ‘spose. You know Rose though. Marches to the beat of a different drummer, she does,” she said as she handed the Doctor his cup and took a sip of hers, sitting in the chair across from him.

“That she does, but you have to love her. She is stubborn, but she’s Rose.”

“Yeah. So you wanna marry my daughter, do ya? Think you’re ready for that? It’s a big deal, ya know. Marriage isn’t always easy, but as long as you work at it and you have the right person, it’s worth it.”

“Oh, yeah, I’m ready. Been ready. Just been waiting for the right time to ask, is all. Our two year anniversary of being here is tomorrow. Was going to ask you for ring advice if Pete said I could have Rose’s hand, but then he suggested this and it seemed like something she’d appreciate more than me getting her a ring.”

Jackie pulled out a black velvet ring box and opened it. He had seen this ring before, of course. The day Pete and Jackie got married and again on the day Pete died which, for the Doctor, was the same day.

The ring was beautiful with a small diamond in a gold setting.

"This is brilliant," the Doctor said. “She’ll love it, Jackie. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Sweetheart. I hope she loves it. Just tell her that it was her father’s ring to me.”

“I will. We will call you tomorrow and then we can set a time to get together for dinner. Now! I have a football game to attend. Tony! Move it out, mah boy!”

* * *

The Doctor wanted to make it home before Rose did so that he could hide the ring in his workshop, but first he had one more thing he had to get from the little shop near their flat. He did love a little shop.

As he walked into the shop, the cashier greeted him with a resounding, “Ah, Dr. Smith. It is very nice to see today!”

“I told you to call me John, Amelia. I’m not that much your elder. Well, I suppose I am, but who has to know that,” he said this last bit under his breath.

The Scottish, ginger-haired girl huffed, playfully.

“Of course, I’m sorry, John. Here to buy for Rose again?”

“Yes. Do you have anything new in stock? I’m looking for a silver heart-shaped box. It’s very important I find one. Tomorrow’s our anniversary, you know. Been two years. Time does fly when you aren’t paying attention to it, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, it does.”

The Doctor shrugged, “Ah ha! Here it is. This box is perfect. Got a gift bag?”

He walked to the register and placed the box gently on the counter. As Amelia put the bag on the counter and gave him his total, he handed her his debit card.

“Thank you, John. See you next time!”

“You sure will. Have a good one.”

As he drove home, all he could think about was the setup he was planning. If he knew his Rose, he knew that she would like anything he planned, but he had to make it perfect.

He decided that he would take off from work about lunch time, so he could make it home to set up the proposal and to cook dinner for her. He placed the ring, the box, the bag and the candles he purchased the day before in a safe in his workshop.

There were only minutes before Rose would be home from work and he had one last thing he had to hide before she got there.

* * *

Rose got home about twenty minutes after the Doctor finished hiding everything he would need for the following night.

He was sitting on the couch in their living room when he heard the familiar sound of Rose unlocking the door. She walked in and plopped down on the couch next to him.

“Hi,” she said, looking up at him.

“Hello,” he said with a grin. “How was your day?”

“Busy, actually. I was interviewing potential assistants today. None of them fit the bill, though. They all don’t do this, or don’t do that. You’d think having an honest paying job would promote the idea of doing this or that.”

“Well, you had a busy day and all I did was sit around here. I’m all caught up on the DVR list now. Vacation time doesn’t suit me. Even just for a day. Need to keep busy. Ah, well.”

He wrapped Rose in his arms and kissed her forehead. She smiled and looked at him mischievously.

“Ya know. We could go to our room and relax. I’ve had a very long day and I really should relax.”

He knew she meant her version of relaxing, which is not relaxing at all. Well, it is in the long run, but it does take some time to get to that point.

“Rose Tyler,” he said, “you have a deal.”

He carried her to their room.


	3. The Joys of Domesticity

The next morning, the Doctor and Rose got up, showered, and made their way to work. Rose was under the impression that they would get off of work around dinner time and they would celebrate their anniversary, just as they had the year before.

The Doctor, however, was leaving work around noon so he could prepare the dinner he was planning and to work the nerves out before he popped the most important question he would ever ask.

Work seemed to pass by slowly for the Doctor. He was in a daze and when someone would ask him a question, he had to ask them to repeat themselves, because he hadn’t been paying attention.

_Why am I so nervous?_ He thought. _I’m almost certain she will say ‘yes.’_ “Ugh, this is so frustrating,” he said out loud, drawing the focus of the other scientists his way.

“Everything alright, mate?” Jake Simmonds asked. Jake had just wandered into the room, which was unusual, because he was more of a field agent. He was rarely ever seen in the office.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just have a lot on my mind. Is there something we can help you with?”

“Not really. I stopped in to see Adam and figured I’d see what was up and wish you good luck for tonight.” The Adam of the other world had travelled with the Doctor and Rose for a short time during the Doctor’s previous incarnation. Things had gone pear-shaped and he ended up having to leave him at his house, after Adam found himself in a spot of trouble. Plus, the Doctor suspected that he fancied his Rose and he wasn’t okay with that. In this world, Adam fancied Jake.

“Thank you. It should be fine,” he smiled.

“Well, see you all later. Gotta get back to it.”

“See you, Jake.”

* * *

The Doctor left, as planned, for lunch. Normally, he and Rose would have lunch together, but she was working through lunch today, so that she could leave early to celebrate their anniversary.

He worked it out with Pete, so that Pete would make her stay through lunch, as a diversion for the Doctor not returning back to work.

The Doctor made it home in record time. First, he went to his workshop to retrieve the items he hid the evening before. He took out the ring and looked at it again. He knew that this ring would mean more to her than any ring from a store. She only knew her biological father for a short time, but he meant the world to her. She loved the Pete of this world and she called him “Dad,” but she still missed the one responsible for her life.

He decided he would put the ring in the heart-shaped box he found at the consignment shop. He hoped she would think that that was her gift and she would open it and there the ring would be.

He planned to cook steak and chips. No matter the celebration, chips were always included. It was their comfort food and it brought back memories only they could appreciate.

The Doctor had become quite the cook in the past two years. She was rarely home from work before he was, so he had to learn. _Ahh, the joys of domesticity_ , he thought.

After a few hours of preparation, the steak was ready and warming on the stove, the homemade chips were cooked and set to low heat in the oven, the candles were lit, and the heart-shaped box, in the gift bag, was sitting in the cupboard, waiting to be removed after dinner.

Rose was due home any minute, so the Doctor sat down at the table and waited.

* * *

The Doctor heard Rose come through the door. He smiled and called out, “I’m in the kitchen.”

He heard her set down her keys and hang her jacket on the coat rack. When she walked into the kitchen, she said, “Mmm, smells delicious.” She looked up and saw the candles on the table. She looked surprised, but had a huge smile. “It’s very romantic in here, Doctor. What have you been up to?”

He kissed her soft lips. “Oh, nothing really. Cooked us dinner and then I figured we’d hang out and whatever.”

“And whatever?” She smiled a toothy smile.

“Ready to eat? I think it’s the best I’ve done, really.”

She laughed, “You always say it’s the best, even if you’ve never cooked it before.”

“Well, I figured it can’t get any worse, so why not, right? Champagne or wine?”

“Wine, please.”

The Doctor took out two wine glasses and poured them both a glass. He delivered it to the table and made his way back to the stove and put the steak on a plate, next to a handful of chips.

“Steak and chips! Yum. Did I ever tell you that you’re the best boyfriend in all the planets and worlds?”

“Yes, but I never tire of hearing it. Go on,” he said with a chuckle. Since the first time she’d called him her boyfriend, it brought chills. He loved the sound of being called something he never thought he could be to her. He knew he had it better than his full Time Lord self. He had Rose.

The Doctor sat down in the chair across from Rose.

“You really have outdone yourself. This is the best steak I’ve ever eaten.”

“Only the best for you,” he smiled. “How was work today?”

“I never realized how difficult it is to find someone who has the ability to get the amount of security clearance it takes to be my assistant. I mean, I know we deal with a lot of sensitive information and items, but even the best Torchwood employees don’t make the cut. They either think they are too special to be an assistant to anyone or they don’t pass the polygraph exam we give. My temp is getting a bit impatient because she knows that she isn’t getting the clearance a permanent employee would get and for me, I can’t get all the help I need because she doesn’t have the clearance. It’s not a good situation, but if she’s only there temporarily, she can’t be trusted with everything.”

He nodded, wanting to make it better for her, but knowing that wasn’t his department.

“Oh, man, that was good,” Rose said, putting her fork and napkin on the plate. She stood up and picked up their dishes, getting ready to bring them to the sink.

“No, no. You sit. I’ll handle everything.” He handed her the bottle of wine and his glass. “Will you take these to the living room? I’m going to rinse these off and I’ll be there in a second.”

“Yeah,” she said, kissing him on the way out. “I have to stop off in our room for a second. I have your present hidden.”

“I thought we said no gifts this year,” he said with a smile, knowing he hadn’t followed that rule either.

“We did, but since when do we ever listen to those crazy ideas.”

The Doctor took this opportunity to get the bag. He made his way to the living room and was relieved that she wasn’t back yet. He placed the bag on the table next to her wine glass and waited.

A few seconds later, Rose emerged with a huge rectangular box in wrapping paper. “You first,” she said, handing the box to the Doctor.

It was sort of heavy, but he managed to unwrap the gift anyway. “A fish tank? Are we getting fish?” He asked excitedly.

“No, silly. It’s for that coral the Doctor gave you. I think it’s time we start to grow it. Donna said it could be done if you use her calculations, and with the technology available at Torchwood…”

“It’s brilliant! Honestly, I didn’t think you wanted a TARDIS. Not after what happened. You never mentioned it.”

“I didn’t mention it, because I thought it would hurt you. I’m glad you like it.”

“I do. Thank you.” He kissed her.

She finally spotted the bag on the table. “No gifts, huh? So, I’m not the only one who doesn’t listen.”

“No, you’re not, but go ahead. Open it.”

He became nervous again. His single heart began to beat faster. _Here we go_ , he thought.

She pulled the box out of the bag and her face lit up. She smiled and squealed with happiness. “Oh, Doctor, it’s beautiful. Thank you…”

She stopped speaking when she opened the box and noticed the ring nestled inside.

“Rose Tyler,” the Doctor said, as he pulled the ring from the box, grabbed her left hand, and got down on one knee. At her name, she looked at him, with tears in her eyes and an unbelieving smile on her face. “We have run everywhere together, from ‘Run!’ til we were separated. Since we’ve been here together, we’ve been running some more. I want to run with you for the rest of our lives. Will you do me the greatest honour in the world and agree to be my wife?” He knew it came out old-fashioned. He _was_ old, after all. He had decided not to rehearse, because he wanted to say whatever he felt, so it would be genuine.

Rose nodded her head slowly in the affirmative. The look on her face and the crying was a lot like what he remembered that day on Bad Wolf Bay when they were separated and he waited too long to tell her he loved her. This was a lot like it, except he knew that these were tears of happiness and not of pain and loss. “Of course. Yes, yes, yes. A million times, yes!” He slipped the ring on her finger and she looked at him again. “Is this…?”

“Your mum’s ring from your dad,” he nodded. “After I asked Pete for permission to ask you, he told me that Jackie wanted you to have it.”

“It’s perfect. I love you!”

“Quite right too. And I suppose…since I will get the chance to say it for the rest of our lives now…Rose Tyler…I love you too,” he smiled, as did she.

“You were always the one that could say it. Will always be the one, in so many different ways. And now, we’re getting married!”

“We are, but first, you have to call your mother. I told her you would.”

“’Kay.” Rose made her way to her mobile, staring at her left ring finger the whole way there, and called her mom, putting the phone on speaker.

“Hello, Sweetheart. How are things?” Jackie said in a sing-song voice, poorly pretending not to know what was going on.

“The Doctor and I are going to get married, Mum! It was perfect and the ring is gorgeous. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, my darling. I’m glad you like it. Pete, Rose said ‘yes.’”

“I knew she would,” they could hear Pete saying in the background.

“Well, you stop by soon, yeah? We have some planning to do. We will need to have a party to announce that Rose Tyler, the Vitex heiress, is marrying Doctor John Smith.”

Rose rolled her eyes, but she knew it was true. “Yeah. I will stop by this weekend. Love you and Dad. Kiss Tony for me, too.”

“I will. Love you too, Sweetheart.”

“Good night, Mum.”

After closing her phone, she walked over to the Doctor and plopped down on the sofa. He put her arm around her and kissed the top of her head, blissfully happy and listening to Rose decide how her name should be changed.

“Rose Marion Tyler-Smith, Rose Smith, Rose Tyler Smith, so many choices.”

The Doctor held her tighter and smiled.


	4. Of Marie and Best Men

“She said ‘yes’,” the Doctor proclaimed the next morning, as he walked into his office.

Everyone cheered with excitement except for one woman. The Doctor gathered that her name was Marie, but never bothered to get to know much more. She smiled, seemingly to be polite.

“Man, what is her malfunction?” Doctor Adam Mitchell asked the Doctor. “I overheard her talking to someone on the phone the other day about this guy she works with. Something about his girlfriend being privileged and that she doesn’t deserve him. Asking what right she has to a man like that, when clearly, he could do better. I assume that since me and you are the only guys in this department and since I’m not the one with a girlfriend, that would be you, mate.” He clipped the Doctor on the back.

“Don’t…just don’t.” The Doctor knew that this Adam was nothing like his other world’s counterpart, but sometimes when he got rambling, he got sort of annoying. “Besides, everyone in Britain knows that I’m with Rose and soon everyone will know we are engaged to be married,” he sighed. “That’s the thing about being with an heiress. Everyone knows everything about your life.”

“Not everything. They don’t know what you really are, do they?”

He never had trouble making friends. He did well at losing them too, both literally and figuratively. Adam was the closest he had to a mate, other than Rose.

When he first arrived on Pete’s World, tests needed to be conducted to be sure that other than being a Time Lord meta-crisis, he was a normal human in every other aspect. Due to the extent of the tests, the Doctor and Rose decided to entrust Doctor Mitchell with the truth. It was because of the time spent and the fact that Adam was the only other person besides Jake and Rose’s family that knew the truth, that contributed to their friendship.

Adam had found that the Doctor’s sleeping needs were similar to that of his Time Lord self, but other than that, he was just like any other human.

Before proposing to her, the Doctor read up on Earthly marriage customs. He knew the gist of them. He knew about the white dress, the veil, the rings, asking the father of the bride for permission, but he never understood the point of making your best mates dress up in poofy dresses. It was bad enough to make your best guy mates dress up in tuxes (bad things always happened when he wore a tux), but the dresses were hideous.

The Doctor had an idea. The Doctor sniffed, suddenly feeling a bit awkward. “How about you be my best man?”

Adam grinned like the Cheshire Cat. “You bet, mate. You don’t seem a stripper bloke, though. Might be tough deciding what to do for a bachelor party.”

The fact that he asked seemed to shock the Doctor more than it shocked Adam.

“Strippers? Is that a thing? No, definitely no strippers. I only want to see one woman naked ever again,” he blushed as the words rolled out.

“Well, I don’t want to see any women naked, so you have yourself a deal, Doctor Smith,” they both laughed quietly, as Marie’s attention was caught and she rolled her eyes.

“Ugh, what is her problem? Been with Rose two years. Think she’d be over it by now.”

“I’m not sure, but I’ll handle it somehow.” This decision didn’t come to him lightly. He did not like confrontation, but he knew that if he didn’t set her straight, their work environment would continue to be uncomfortable.

Adam gave him a pat on the back, “Good luck with that.”

The Doctor nodded.

* * *

That day at lunch, the Doctor saw Marie sitting alone at a table. Rose hadn’t arrived yet and so he decided this was a great opportunity to try and fix whatever the problem was. He walked up to her table. “May I have a seat, Doctor?”

“Yes, of course, Doctor Smith,” she said, smiling.

“Thanks. So, as the head of the science lab, I wanted to ask you if there was anything you needed or anything you’d like to have changed.”

“Oh, no. Everything is fine, really. Everyone is really nice.” She grabbed her wallet from her lab coat and took out a debit card. The Doctor glanced down and saw that her name was, in fact, Marie and that her last name was Harper.

“Doctor Harper, I couldn’t help but notice that you seem sort of upset at times. Are you sure there is nothing wrong?”

“Well, to be honest, I do tend to get a little uncomfortable. Look, I know that you’re getting married and all, but sometimes I feel as if things in the office get a bit personal. It is a place of work, after all.”

The Doctor knew that her confession was simply one of her own discomfort. She was the only one who never spoke about her personal life and she was the only one Adam had heard talking on the phone about him.

“Yes. I do suppose we do get personal, but that is just because we are all friends. You are very welcome to do the same. Is there a Mister Harper?”

“Oh, no. Well, my father is and my brother is also a doctor. He works at Torchwood Three in Cardiff.”

The Doctor had heard stories about Doctor Owen Harper from Rose, but had only ever spoken to him on the phone.

“Ah, yes. Owen. I’ve spoken to him before. Nice guy.”

She smirked, seeming to open up a bit. “You obviously don’t know my brother very well. He can be a jerk.”

“Oh? Well, we all can, I suppose. I’ll have to talk to him about that. So, if you’d like, we are having a party in a couple weeks to celebrate the engagement. You’re welcome to come if you’d like. I know we would love to have you there.”

“Yeah,” she smiled. “I’d like that, Doctor Smith.”

“Ah, you can call me John, if you’d like or just Doctor. Most people call me Doctor.”

“Okay, Doctor. You can call me Marie.”

“It’s nice to formally meet you, Marie.”

“You, as well.”

Rose walked in and the Doctor was relieved. He had gotten Marie to ease up and get to know him personally and vice versa and he hoped she’d be more receptive to light-hearted fun instead of a crush that wouldn’t go anywhere. Rose walked over when she spotted the Doctor sitting with Marie.

“Hello.”

“Hello!” He exclaimed. “Rose, this is Doctor Marie Harper, my colleague and friend and Marie, this is my fiancée, Rose Tyler.”

“Hello, Rose. It’s very nice to meet you.”

“You, too,” she replied, sticking out her hand to make it available for a shake. Marie took it and smiled, sheepishly.

“I really must be getting back to the office now. It was nice speaking with you, Doctor. And really, no concerns at all. You two have a lovely lunch. See you later.”

“Bye, Marie,” they both said.

Rose sat down in the chair that was once occupied by Marie. “Harper? Is she Owen Harper’s sister?”

“Yep. That’d be her. She really is nice, but she was feeling a bit out of sorts because we are all friends in the office and the personal talk made her uncomfortable, but I think she’s okay now.”

He decided not to tell Rose about the conversation Adam overheard. It was harmless and he thought that actually meeting Rose, humanized her a little, instead of just being someone he and the news talked about all the time.

“Good,” she said, and kissed him. “I missed you. Mum wants us to stop by tonight after work and talk about the party.”

“I missed you too and that’s fine.”

* * *

After work that evening, Rose met the Doctor by his Torchwood SUV. She drove a convertible that didn’t easily seat the Doctor, so when they were going somewhere together, he would always drive.

Rose got into the passenger side and after they were both strapped in, Rose said, “You know, I’m happy you don’t drive land vehicles like you drove the TARDIS. Always throwing us about. I was on the floor of the console room more than on my feet,” her tongue-in-teeth smile indicated she was joking and she giggled.

“Oi! I was a brilliant spaceship driver, thank you very much. And how do you know I didn’t prefer you on the floor of the console room?” He said in his most seductive tone.

She chuckled, “Okay, what was with all the wheezing and carrying on she did? That noise couldn’t have been normal. Are you sure you didn’t have the emergency brakes on or something?”

“There weren’t any emergency brakes. Not that I know of. I stole her, you know. Not like I had time to read that bloody instruction book.

“Odd though, sometimes when I would talk to her, I swore I could hear the faint sound of a voice replying to me. I wasn’t ever really sure though.”

“Not so odd. You were with her longer than anyone in your life and hers, come to think of it. You had a long life and for the majority of that life, she was with you. You were bound to have some sort of telepathic connection to her. I know how intense it can be to see everything and know everything she knows. I can’t imagine she wouldn’t want to share it with you.”

“You’re probably right. Do you think that the new TARDIS will be that close to us?”

“I’m sure, eventually, she will be. May take some time. But I think if we both talk to her from the beginning, she will know us. I wonder what form she will take this time. Surely not a 1960s Police Call Box. Will you make her a chameleon circuit or just have her stay one form like the blue box?”

“Oh, I dunno. Technically, she will already have a chameleon circuit, so I don’t actually make one. It will be many different factors as to whether she will want to stay a particular form. The other one broke and I just never fixed it. I quite liked the blue box, but she may decide to stay in her favorite form and we may not get a say in it. Who knows? She will be related to the other TARDIS, though. They will have the same DNA, because the coral came from her strut, so they could be equally stubborn.”

Rose laughed.

“You know, if I ever got an opportunity to talk to her again, not an opportunity I expect to happen again, I would tell her that she’d never been very reliable. She didn’t always take me where I wanted to go…”

“No, but she always took you where you needed to go,” Rose finished his sentence, not knowing where it had come from.

He looked at her with surprise in his eyes. “That was deep, Rose Tyler.”

“Yeah, not sure why I said that.” She shrugged it off, as they pulled into her parents’ driveway. “Here goes nothing. Ready for Hurricane Tony to attack you?”

“Always.”


	5. Jackie's Plans

Rose and the Doctor walked into the Tyler mansion.

“Mum, we’re here!” Rose called out, as her mother jogged to hug her daughter around her neck.

“Oh, I missed you, Sweetheart. Your dad tells me how busy you are. Always making you work. I miss seeing my daughter.”

“I missed you too, Mum. He doesn’t <i>make</i> me work, though. I like what I do.”

“Well, you may like what you do, but I still miss seeing you.”

“Okay, how about we come over for weekly dinners, yeah?” she asked, looking at the Doctor for approval.

He rolled on his heels and grinned, “Sure! I could cook, or Rose could cook. Even Pete could cook, if you’d like.”

Jackie playfully smacked him on the shoulder, “Very funny. My cooking isn’t that bad, is it, darling?” she asked Pete, who was mindlessly walking past.  
“No, Jacks. You’re cooking is great,” he said in a tone that made the Doctor suspect he’d lied about that before.

“See! Even he likes it. Anyway, we have a party to plan. Congratulations, by the way! My little girl is getting married. You made her grow up too fast,” she said, pointing at the Doctor.

“Me? How’s that? We met when she was nineteen, we travelled together until she was twenty-one, she was here for three years before she found me and it’s been two years that we’ve been here. She’s only twenty-six. You want to talk about growing up too fast? I’m over 900 years old. Now, that’s old. <i>Well</i>, if you want to get technical, I was just born two years ago, but I have over 900 years’ worth of memories in here,” he said, as he pointed to his head.

Jackie rolled her eyes and took Rose by the arm, dragging her to the kitchen, as Pete gestured for the Doctor to follow him to his study. Before the Doctor could even shut the door, he asked, “Care for a brandy?”

“No, I’m good, thanks.”

“Well, a congratulations are in order. When’s the big day, then?”

“Oh, I don’t know yet. I’m sure Jackie’s in a bit of a rush, but we’ve not even been engaged a day, so I can’t imagine it’ll be less than a few months or a year.”

Pete began to laugh uncontrollably.

“What’s so funny?” the Doctor asked, surprised and wondered if he’d said something funny.

“It’s just that you act as if you’ve never met my wife. You think she’ll let you make it to a year before she has you married to her ‘only daughter’.” He responded, making air quotes.

“Well, I suppose you’re right enough. Woman never could have things any other way but her own.”

“Right you are, son. Right you are.”

* * *

Jackie sat a cup of tea on the table in front of Rose. “So, I was thinking that we will have the engagement party next weekend. Everyone from Vitex will be there, of course. You can invite whomever you want. Make sure I get a list for the final count, though.”

“Imagine me. Inviting who I want to my own engagement party. I haven’t heard of such a thing.”

“Now, Rose, Sweetheart. You know it’s important to have people see the Vitex heiress engaged and happy. They have enough questions about your existence to begin with. Don’t want to go giving them any others.”

“I know. Do you ever get tired of being in the limelight though, Mum? I mean, we came from Powell Estate. No one but the neighbors knew who we were and now all of sudden, everyone knows. It just takes a bit getting used to.”

“It will be fine. One day, it will feel like second nature and everything will be okay. Now, I was thinking of having the wedding in about six weeks. It could be right here at the mansion. Do you have any ideas about bridesmaids or anything?”

“Six weeks!? How will we get everything ready in six weeks?”

“Don’t you worry. I will manage everything. Now, about those bridesmaids.”  
“Mum, I want to talk to you about something. Do you remember Donna? The Doctor’s friend?”

“Yes, the ginger one. The one that made your Doctor out of a jar, right?”

“Yeah, that’s her. Well, I’ve been interviewing for an assistant and in walks Donna Noble! I didn’t even interview her. I hired her on the spot. I hope the Doctor’ll be happy she exists here, even if it isn’t the same Donna.

“It’s sort of odd, ya know? Apparently, she’s been working for Torchwood as a temp for quite some time. She’s been wanting a permanent position, but doubted she could because none of the other temps managed to get one, but somehow she was able to pass all necessary clearances. I asked her how she heard about the job. She said she found a memo someone sent out and she’d like to have a permanent job, even though she’s been told she’s the best temp in Chiswick. The other Donna used to say that all the time.”

“Oh, wow. You might want to tell him before he shows up one day and discovers it for himself. I mean, imagine the shock. Could his mere one heart take that?” Jackie said with a hint of sarcasm.

Rose giggled, “I’m not sure, but you’re right. I do need to tell him first. Thanks, Mum.”

“Anytime, Sweetheart. Now about those bridesmaids.”

“I don’t really have any girlfriends. I think the Doctor asked Adam to be his best man, but I haven’t got any girlfriends.”

“It will work itself out. You’ll see.”

“Yeah.”

* * *

“Hi.” Rose smiled as she reentered the living room. The Doctor was sitting on the sofa with Tony.

“Rose, the Doctor said he lived in a blue box. Is that true?”

“Yup,” Rose said as she picked Tony up and put him on her lap. She sat down next to the Doctor. “It was a blue box and it was bigger on the inside and it had a million rooms. Doctor, remember that one time, we woke up in the library with random books in our hands and we didn’t have a clue how we got there?”

He laughed. “Yes! I had a book on Clom. Clom, of all places. Wonder why on Earth I was reading about Clom.”

“I had ‘Summer Falls’ by Amelia Williams. That seemed far more interesting than a book on Clom though. Anyway, Tony, we have a very very important question to ask you.”

“K, what?”

The Doctor started, “Rose and I were wondering if you’d want to be our ring-bearer at our wedding. You would get to dress up like a penguin and everything.”

“What would I have to do?”

“You would carry the rings to me and Rose on a pillow,” the Doctor answered.

“Oh. That seems easy. Sure! Mum, when can I get my penguin costume?”

“Oh, bloody hell. You have the boy thinking he can actually dress like a penguin. You will be in a tuxedo, sweetheart, but Dad and I will get you a penguin costume,” Jackie said as she shot the couple a look.

* * *

Later that night, Rose decided she would tell the Doctor what was going on with Donna. To say the least, she was nervous, but she knew her mum was right. She had to tell him before he found out on his own.

The Doctor was in the bedroom, putting some of their laundry away. When he walked back out, Rose patted the sofa cushion next to her and the Doctor sat down.

“Hi,” he said and gave the most gorgeous smile she’d ever seen.

“Hi.” She smiled back. “So, Mum said we will have our very public engagement party in a week.

“And she would like to have the wedding in six weeks. I told her she was crazy, but I think if you aren’t okay with it, we could convince her….”

“Rose Tyler, I’ve waited long enough to become your husband and if don’t mind marrying me in six weeks, I’m perfectly okay with that.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Rose squealed with excitement as she climbed in the Doctor’s lap. “Are you going to dress like a penguin too?” she laughed.

“I figure it’s time for something good to happen when I’m in a tux. I need to break tradition, don’t I?”

“Sounds like a plan.” She paused. “There’s something I have to talk to you about.”

“Oh, yeah? What’s that?”


	6. Donna's First Day

“You know how we’ve been looking for another assistant?  Well, we found one.  She’s perfect really.  Passed all the tests and she’s brilliant.”

“Oh?  That’s great, Rose.  I know it’s been hard.”

“Yeah.  See, the thing is,” she said standing from her position on the Doctor’s lap, “it’s Donna Noble.”

She turned her back to him and gritted her teeth in preparation for his impending shock.

“You mean...Donna?  Donna Noble?  The crazy ginger Donna?”

“She’s the one.  Well, this world’s version at least.”

“So, this world has a Donna and a Wilf?”

“I’m not sure about Wilf, but Donna, yeah.  Saw her with my own two eyes.  She’s exactly the same too.  Brilliant.”

“Rose Tyler!  You are wonderful.  I have to meet her.  You have to introduce us.  She won’t know who I am, but I have to meet her.”

“Okay, breath, Doctor.  Tomorrow, stop by at lunch and you can meet her.  You can’t be all crazed though.  Can you do that?”

“Yeah, I can do that,” he said with a big grin, as he kissed Rose.  “I love you!”

“I love you, too. Man, I thought you’d be upset, because she wouldn’t know you.  Thought it would hurt too bad or something.  I hired her on the spot.  I saw it was her and decided immediately.  Must have looked mad and desperate.” 

* * *

 The next day, Rose went to work, but she was so excited about Donna’s first official day as her new assistant that she hardly slept the night before.  It occurred to Rose shortly after she arrived that she hadn’t even so much as looked at Donna’s CV or had any real discussion with her other than asking how she'd heard about the job.  She decided now that she must really have seemed a nutter.

A few minutes later, Donna walked in with a briefcase in her hand.  She looked unsure as to where to place her things, so Rose hurriedly showed her to the assistant’s desk in the lobby.  

“Good morning, Ms. Noble.  This will be your desk.  Here are your keys to your locker, file cabinet, and desk. Here are the instructions on how to set your safe to the passcode you’d like.”

“Oh, Ms. Tyler.  Good morning.  You can call me Donna, please.  And my last name is actually Temple-Noble, now.  Married my Shaun last Spring,” she said as she held up her left hand to show Rose.

“Congratulations!  I’m getting married in six weeks.  Don’t have a thing planned, but Mum insists she’s got it taken care of.  The woman could plan an event for the queen in a week if need be.  She didn’t always have a knack for that sort of thing.  Not until she came here.”  The last sentence was said under her breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing, sorry.  So is this set-up suitable for you?”

“Yes, Ms. Tyler.  Thank you.  I guess I’ll be getting used to calling you something else in six weeks, huh?  Maybe I should get started now, so I don’t get hooked on Tyler.”

Rose chuckled, “You can call me Rose.  Sorry to not say that sooner.  You’re right though.  I’ll be Mrs. Tyler-Smith in six weeks.  How odd is that?  Never thought I’d see that day.  Me, marrying Doctor John Smith.”

“John Smith?  Couldn’t pick that name from a line-up, could you?  He could go into hiding with a name like that.”

Rose laughed.  “True enough.  It is quite common, isn’t it?  Donna, are you free for lunch today?  I’d like to get to know my assistant a bit better and my fiancé will be joining us.  If Shaun is free, he can join us.  It’s on me.”

“Sure!  Shaun works over at the repair center on the fifth floor.  I’ll ring ‘em up and ask ‘em to join us.”

“Brilliant!  I’ll let you get to it, then.” 

* * *

The Doctor’s phone rang.  When he picked it up, Rose began talking immediately.

“Doctor, I’ve invited Donna and her  _husband_  Shaun to lunch.”

“She’s married here too then?  That’s good.  She deserves it after what happened with Lance.  Guy had a crazy thing for a giant spider.  Creepy, really.”

“You don’t know that it happened here.  Besides there haven’t been any reports of giant spiders attacking Pete’s World London.”

“It could have been kept quiet, Rose.”

“Regardless, be here for lunch.    You can ask her yourself.  Imagine that, ‘So, Donna.  A few years ago, were you engaged to a guy called Lance, who turned out to be a jerk and obsessed with a giant spider?’  That should turn out well.”

“I’m not going to ask her.  Eventually, if she is even remotely like my Donna, she will tell me everything.”

“Yeah, she has a way of getting people to talk too.  Very easy to talk to.”  
“I’ll see you at lunch.  I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

As the Doctor hung up the phone, Adam walked over.  

“Is everything okay, Doctor?”

“Yes.  Everything is fine.  In a few hours, I’m going to be seeing an old friend and she has no idea who I am.”

“An old friend, huh? Does Rose know that you’re meeting up with this old friend?”

“Yes, Adam, she does.  As a matter of fact, she arranged it.”

“Oh, kinky!  Didn’t know Rose had it in her.”

“Shut up, you idiot!  She is this world’s version of my best friend in the other world, Donna Noble.  Welll, Donna Temple-Noble now, apparently.  She was married in this world too.  Used to be engaged to a bloke called Lance.  He was obsessed with a giant spider.  Things got complicated after that, as you can imagine.”

“Yeah, I can imagine,” Adam said, rolling his eyes.

“Anyway, I think it will be interesting to see how she is in this world.  There has to be a slight variation.  Welll, there doesn’t have to be, but it’s unlikely that there isn’t,” the Doctor said more to himself than to Adam.  “I haven’t met her husband, Shaun, either.  I know he’s good to her.  She wouldn’t settle for more anything less, would she?”

“Well, Doc, I’m gonna go back to work.  You seem committed to talking to herself.  See you later.”

“Yeah.  See you,” he said, not really knowing what he was replying to.

The Doctor felt a little anxious about this lunch.  Earlier, when it wasn’t so set in stone, he was excited, nervous, and happy to see his friend again, but now, he was anxious.  Could he handle the fact that Donna wouldn’t know who he was?  What if Wilf wasn’t around?  He didn’t know if he could handle there not being a Wilf. 

* * *

At eleven-thirty, Donna’s desk phone rang.  “Ms. Tyler’s office.  This is Donna speaking.  How may I help?”

“Oh, yes, Donna.  This is John.  Is Rose available?”

“Yes, sir.  Please hold.”  She put the call on hold.  Spacing out for a second, but then collecting her thoughts, she punched in Rose’s extension.  “Keep it together, Donna.  You’re the best temp in Chiswick,” she said to herself as she hung up her receiver.

Deciding to call her granddad to check on him, she took out her mobile and called his speed dial extension.  The answering machine picked up, “Oi, Gramps!  Pick up the line.  It’s your granddaughter, Donna.”

Donna heard the sound of the phone rustling on the other end.

“I’m here, I’m here.  Was in the loo.  How are you, my darling? How is your first day?”

“It’s brilliant, Gramps.  I’m having lunch, a double date really, with the boss and her fiancé.  Shaun’s coming too,” she lowered her voice, “and she’s paying for the whole thing.  Can you believe it?  I’m-having-lunch-with-Rose-Tyler-heiress-to-the-Vitex-fortune,” she said in one long breathless string.  “Me.  I’m just a temp.  Well, not anymore.  I’ve settled down and got a real job.”

Wilf chuckled on the other end.  “I’m proud of you, Sweetheart.  You’re doin’ good for you and that husband of yours.  Things’re lookin’ up for ya.  I want all the details tonight at supper.  You should get back to work.  Love ya, Sweetheart.”

“Love ya too, Gramps.  See you tonight.” 

* * *

“Rose Tyler,” Rose said as she picked up her ringing line.

“Soon enough you’ll be answering Rose Tyler-Smith.  Ready for that?”

“Oh, you haven’t got a clue how ready, Doctor Smith.”  She said this in the best sultry voice she could muster up.  “What’s up?”

“Did you want me to meet you at your office or at the restaurant?”

“We haven’t decided where we’re going yet, but I thinking Luciano’s.  I’ll ask Donna if she and Shaun like Italian, so meet us here and we can ride together.”

“Okay.  See you in a few minutes.  Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Rose sat at her desk for a few minutes, smiling and not being able to contain her thoughts.  She was excited to be able to call that man her husband and the fact that from the day they returned home from Bad Wolf Bay, he had never let her wonder or doubt how much he loved her.  He told her at every turn and she hadn’t been so confident in herself or a relationship in her entire life.  She had the perfect life, with the perfect man, job and family.

At ten of, she stood from her desk and made her way to reception to ask Donna about Luciano’s.  She spotted who she suspected was Shaun talking to her.

“Oh, Rose,” gesturing for her to draw nearer, “this is my husband, Shaun.  Shaun, this is my boss, Rose Tyler.”

Rose held out her hand, “Pleasure to meet you, Shaun.”

“You as well, ma’am.  Thank you for inviting me to lunch today.”

“Call me, Rose, please.  ‘Ma’am makes me feel old,” she chuckled.

Shaun nodded.

“Are the two of you okay with Italian at Luciano’s?”

“Sounds brilliant,” Donna answered for both of them. 

* * *

As the Doctor got the Rose’s office door, he took a deep breathe in preparation of seeing his best mate, who wasn’t really his best mate, again.  Before he opened the door, he peeked in through the glass and saw her and Shaun, talking to Rose.

Donna was his human side.  Many of his personality traits were his because of her.  She would no doubt see that they had a lot in common and they would become great friends.  He just knew it.  Bracing himself, he put his hand on the door and pushed it open.

At the noise, Donna turned around, took on a glossed-over gaze and began quietly muttering something.  It would have probably been completely inaudible had it not been for his exceptional hearing, something he retained from his Time Lord self.

“Brilliant, Fantastic,  _Molto Bene_ , great big universe, packed into my brain. You know you can fix that Chameleon Circuit if you just try hot-wiring the fragment links and superseding the…”  Before she could finish her sentence, she fainted.

The Doctor immediately recognized these words as the ones she used when she had the brain of a Time Lord.  He looked at Rose, who looked both concerned and confused.  Then, he looked at Shaun who kept asking what was wrong with her and as he turned to the mirror hanging on the wall, he saw himself, wondering how the hell this could have happened.


	7. Recognition

“What is wrong with my wife? What did you do to her?”

“Rose, I’m bringing her to the hospital wing. Phone Marie, please.”

“Got it,” she said. She said to Shaun thoughtfully, “Donna will be fine, just go with the Doctor. He will look after her.”

In her haste, she didn’t realize she called him “The Doctor”. She normally just called him John when she was talking about him to anyone but her family.

She was worried and a bit confused about what had just happened, but she would get an explanation later. Right now, she had to go phone Marie.

* * *

The Doctor ran with Donna in his arms. He went straight to the hospital wing, in hopes that Marie, who was the only scientist with a medical doctorate in that branch of Torchwood, would already be there. Thankfully, she was.

“What’s going on, Doctor? What happened?”

“I don’t know. I’m not quite sure. She was fine one minute and the next, she mumbled something and fainted.”

“Did anyone catch what she said? It could indicate what she was feeling health-wise before she fainted.”

“No,” the Doctor lied. He knew it wasn’t indicative to her condition and didn’t figure it was worth mentioning, at least not to anyone but Rose. “Marie, look after her, please. This is Shaun, Donna’s husband. If there are any developments, ring my mobile. I have to go talk to Rose for a second and bring her up here.”

“Okay. I’ll take care of her.”

The Doctor looked at Shaun, “She will be fine. She is in great hands.”

“Yeah. She better be.”

* * *

A few minutes later, the Doctor was outside of Rose’s office again. He threw the door open, calling out her name. She ran out of her office.

“How is she?”

“I think she will be fine, but Rose, did you hear her mumbling?”

“I heard her mumbling, but I didn’t make out what she said.”

“She was saying some of the same things she said when she became part-Time Lord. The Time Lord brain that would have eventually killed her. She saw me and oh my God. I did that to her. She saw me and fainted. But how?” He said, facing Rose. “How is that possible? She is a completely different person. Different world, different memories, different everything, but it seems she has some sort of connection to the memories, or lack thereof, I suppose, to our world’s counterpart of herself.

“That day that he left us on Bad Wolf Bay, we both knew that he’d have to take her memories of him and their time together to save her life. It was the only way. We both knew that she couldn’t handle having a Time Lord brain in a human body. She’d die and then once he took her memories, if they got triggered, what just happened, would happen.”

“But Doctor, like you said, it’s impossible. Different worlds. That rift was sealed off after that day. No more passing through. Just because she mumbled some stuff, doesn’t mean it’s her or that she’s doomed to live the life of the other her. Honestly though, I don’t think Marie can fix this one. Only you can. If the problem is what you think it is, it can only be you.”

“You’re right. But first, I have to pay her gramps a visit. He needs to know and so does her mum.”

“You can bring them in the public entrance. I am going to phone Dad and tell him what’s going on. Everything will be fine, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

* * *

Wilf Mott was outside of his house tinkering with his favorite telescope. The night before, he noticed that the lens was loose and he wanted to fix it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw an impressive looking man wearing a suit and trainers approaching. Not knowing why he was being paid a visit, a look of confusion crossed his face.

“Hello, sir. I’m Doctor John Smith. Are you Wilfred Mott, grandfather of Donna Temple-Noble?”

“I am, sir. Is there something I can help you with? If you’re looking for Donna, she’s at work.” He looked at his watch, “Well, it’s lunch time now, isn’t it? She had a very important lunch planned with the boss. Called this morning to tell me. Do you want to speak to her mother?”

“No, sir. I am here to talk to both of you actually. Donna is at the hospital,” the Doctor noticed Wilf’s panicked face. “We think she will be fine. If you would like to call Mrs. Noble, I’d be happy to take you to her.”

“Wait a second here. Since when do doctors make house calls when the patient isn’t at home? I think my daughter and I will drive ourselves. Thank you very much. You lead the way, Doctor. Sylvia, get out here,” he added with a shout.

Mrs. Sylvia Noble walked out of the house and the Doctor got in his car. “What is it now, Dad? I’m doing the dishes.”

“It’s Donna, darling. She in the hospital and this doctor, Doctor Smith said he will lead us to her. Offered to drive, but I don’t know if I trust him, so I said we’d drive ourselves. We can follow ‘em and if things don’t feel up-to-snuff, we’ll turn right back ‘round.”

“Oh, Donna! Okay. Let me grab my keys and coat. Phone Shaun and see if he has any information.”

Wilf made his way inside and dialed Shaun’s mobile, but it went straight to voicemail. From past experience, he knew that Shaun didn’t get reception at work.

Sylvia came outside, shutting the door and locking it behind her. She hurriedly made her way to the car and got in, Wilf right behind her.

“I called Shaun’s mobile, but it went straight to voicemail. Donna is probably at that on-site hospital they have there so he won’t have reception.”

Sylvia nodded, but followed the Doctor’s car in silence.

* * *

The Doctor realized he probably sounded rather like a creeper and untrustworthy with how cryptic he was. No wonder Wilf didn’t want to go with him.

A few minutes later, the three of them made it to Canary Wharf. The way that the hospital was set up, it didn’t look like a typical Torchwood facility, so employees could go there and their families could visit and they would be none-the-wiser. However, the Doctor suspected that if this world’s Donna and Wilf were anything like the ones he knew, Wilf was fully aware of where and to what caliber Donna worked.

The Doctor silently led Wilf and Sylvia to the hospital wing’s back entrance. He quickly texted Rose to ask her to meet them there. Once they got inside, the Doctor went straight to the room he had left her in. Wilf and Sylvia went inside the room and straight to Shaun.

“How is she?” The Doctor asked Marie, as Rose walked up behind him.

“She is showing signs of dehydration, so I have administered an IV, but other than that, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong. Her blood sugar was very low so it was probably a combination of that and the dehydration that caused the fainting. We will keep her overnight, but she should be ready to go home tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Marie. I’d like to take over if that’s okay. Thank you for looking after her while I got her family here.”

“Sure, no problem. If you need anything, let me know.”

“Of course.”

The Doctor waited for Marie to be out of earshot when he turned to Rose and hugged her. She gave him a reassuring smile and squeeze.

“How’re Wilf and her mum?”

“They are worried obviously and they probably thought I was a creeper the way I approached Wilf. I almost expected him to recognize me the way she seemed to. All we can do now is wait for her to wake up. That’s where you come in. I can’t risk the chance of her having the same reaction if she sees me again, so I need you to see how she is. I need to keep my distance until we know what this is.”

The Doctor sat outside of her room, close enough where he could hear if something happened, but far enough away to where Donna couldn’t see him if she woke up.

About thirty minutes later, he heard Donna’s voice coming from her room.

“Where am I? Gramps? Mum? Rose? What happened to me?”

“You’re fine, Sweetheart. You had a little tumble is all. The doc’ll fix ya right up.”

“I fell? I had lunch with Rose and Doctor Smith. Did we go?”

“No,” Shaun answered this time. “Doctor Smith walked in and you fainted.”

“Oh, I remember now. He walked in and I saw him and fainted. What’d I do that for?”

“Doctor Harper says you were dehydrated and had low blood sugar. You needed to eat, but I guess lunch time wasn’t soon enough. I told you to eat your breakfast, dear.”

Donna’s mother hadn’t changed a bit, the Doctor realized. He imagined Donna rolling her eyes.

“Rose, where is that fiancé of yours? I hope I didn’t scare him off. Probably thinks I fainted on account of him. Great timing that was,” she chuckled, then coughed.

Shaun rubbed her back to comfort her.

“He’s not scared off. He’s just checking into some things. He will be your doctor from now on.”

“Oh, brilliant. You guys. Do you mind if I talk to Rose alone please? I have to ask her some questions. Girl questions,” she whispered.

“Sure, we’ll go get a cuppa tea,” Wilf responded, as he began guiding his daughter and grandson-in-law out of the door.

As they walked out, Sylvia was complaining about how she had the right anatomy for the questions Donna wanted to ask, but how Donna chose Rose to talk to over her own mother. Sylvia and Shaun continued on to the cafeteria, but Wilf lingered around in the hallway, near the Doctor.

As Rose walked to the door to shut it, the Doctor heard Donna say that her mother drove her crazy, to which Rose responded, “I know how you feel.”

“Hey, Doc?” The Doctor was torn from his concentration to hear Wilf’s voice.

He sat up straight, “Yes, sir?”

“My Donna will be fine, won’t she? I couldn’t deal,” he said as tears welled up in his eyes.

“She will be fine. I will see to it.”

“Right, then. Sorry we didn’t go with you. Don’t know who you can trust these days, ya know? I know what she does for a living. Dangerous stuff sometimes. I didn’t know if you was one of them aliens or something tryin’a trick me.”

“I completely understand, Mr. Mott.”

“Oh, just Wilf. Nice to meet you, Doc.”

“Very, very, very nice to meet you too, Wilf.”

“I better go catch up with ‘em. Don’t want ‘em thinkin’ I ran off.”

“Catch you later, Wilf. And hey, don’t worry. She will be fine.”

“I know.”

* * *

Rose sat on the side of Donna’s hospital bed.

“How ya feeling?”

“I’m better. Thanks. Rose, there is something I have to tell you. Don’t freak out okay? But, I don’t think I fainted entirely because of dehydration or low blood sugar. I drink plenty of water and despite what my mum thinks, I had a three course breakfast this morning.

“A few years ago, I had this incident where I fell and hit my head. I had a concussion and I ended up in the hospital. Now, the only one that knows is my Gramps, ‘cause Mum was in Ireland visiting some cousins for a few weeks and by the time she got back, I was better. I asked Gramps not to say anything, because Mum worries too much.

“Anyway, so this was about two years at about this time of year, I believe. I’ll have to ask Gramps the exact date, but I think it was within the last couple days. During my concussed state, I began having vivid visions and it was like a dream, but very real. There was a blue box, a man, and a blonde girl. I was there, but it was like an outer-body experience. I was very clever. After I woke up, I forgot the details of it all, except for the blue box.

To be honest, you always reminded me of the blonde girl. I’m not sure why, but I’m pretty sure I sound like a nutter now, don’t I?”

“No, not at all. Is there a reason you decided to tell me this though?”

“Yes, sorry. Should have led with that. When I saw Doctor Smith, it all came back. The blue box, my cleverness, the blonde girl, the man. For a split second, it all came back like the day it happened, but then I passed out and now I’ve forgotten the specifics again.”

“Okay. Will you be okay here for a second while I tell John what’s going on? Trust me, he’s heard all sorts. He will want to know these details to make sure you don’t faint again.”

“Sure.”

“Alright. I’ll be back in a bit then.”

 


	8. Aftermath

Rose quietly walked out of Donna’s room and into the hall where the Doctor was waiting.  As soon as she shut the door, she began.

“Doctor, she knows.  I’m not sure how she knows, but she knows.  She knows about a man, a blonde girl, a blue box.  She said the blonde girl reminds her of me.  She doesn’t reminder faces, but when she was unconscious she saw the people in detail.  After she woke up, she forgot.  

“About two years ago, at about this time of year, she fell and hit her head.  During her concussed state, she had a dream-like vision.  She said she was there, but it was like an outer-body experience.  She said she was clever.

“Doctor, you’ve been here two years.  You were born two years ago. She said to give or take a couple days.”

The Doctor sat down on the nearest surface, a blank look on his face.   _How could this happen?_  He thought.  She wasn’t the same Donna from the other world.  He had seen her get on the TARDIS with his counterpart.  How then could it be possible that she remembered, but didn’t remember?  She knew the gist but not the details.  It happened at the same time he was born and then again when she saw him.  What if he had found his best friend and she couldn’t look at him without passing out?  That would be terrible.

“I’ve got it!  Remember those tests I ran when I first got here?  The ones I got solidified by Pete, your mum and Adam?  I think that’s it.”

“Are you sure?  Why did she have such an adverse effect?  Twice.”

“It might be because what happened when I was born wasn’t exactly a stroll in the park.  It shocked Donna and me and we were there, so imagine the shock when you’re an outsider looking in.”

“You need to try and explain this to her.  I’ll go warn her and maybe it will be okay this time.  Ready?

“Yeah.  I am.  Question is, is she?”

* * *

Donna lay in her hospital bed, pretending to take a nap.  She couldn’t sleep.  The last couple of hours had been both mentally and physically draining.  Also, this nonsense with a blue box, a bloke, a blonde girl and her being clever was something that was so absurd, she couldn’t wrap her head around it.  How did any of these things even remotely go together?  

She only told Rose, because she trusted her for some reason.  She felt like she knew her, but she had never met her before today.  Not in person anyway.

Rose walked in the room and Donna stirred, pretending to have been sleeping.

“Oh, Rose,” she stretched and sat up.

“I talked to John.  He would like to see you, but he wanted me to tell you he’d be coming in.”

“Okay.  Thanks.”

A few seconds later, the door to her room opened and he walked in.  In an instant, she remembered the whole dream she had two years ago and earlier this afternoon.  In her dream, she travelled with a bloke called the Doctor in a blue police call box.  They first met when she was supposed to marry Lance, but they met again a year later.  They had all sorts of adventures like being in Pompeii when the volcano erupted, meeting Agatha Christie and being best mates.  The Donna in her dream met a blonde girl who was the Doctor’s true love and he was sad.  He had lost her, but she wasn’t dead.

She wanted to travel with him, not only because she wanted to see the world, but because he needed someone to stop him.  She remembered telling him that.  He needed to find someone to stop him from making rash decisions. One day, the blonde girl appeared and she and the Doctor were reunited, but then Donna got trapped in the blue box and she accidentally touched a jar with a creepy hand in it and a man was created from that hand.  

She was clever and could think up mathematical equations in seconds.  The other Doctor, the one that came from the hand, started talking like her and she had his brain.  They went to a beach in Norway, but the original Doctor and the dream Donna stayed in the blue box, which she remembered was bigger on the inside, and the new Doctor and the blonde girl stayed on the beach.  This is when Donna had woken up and the dream ended.

Donna’s eyes shot open when she realized the blonde girl’s name was Rose.  She looked up at the bloke standing next to her bed.

“Doctor?”

She wasn’t saying his name like, “Oh, hey there, Doc.”  This was a gesture of recognition.

“You’re not John Smith.  You’re the Doctor.”

* * *

“I am your doctor, yes.”

“No, I mean, you’re  _the_  Doctor.  She is Bad Wolf.  I...well the one in my head...was looking for you.  You needed someone to stop you.  Where’s the blue box?  You were in my dream.  You’re the bloke in my dream.  How could I forget that fashion sense.  A suit and trainers on a bean pole.  You’re so skinny, you should eat.  Oh, you couldn’t eat, could you?  I passed out and you’ve been worried, because we’re best mates.  No, no, no, that’s in my head, isn’t it?”

She said all of this in a speed that made the Doctor think she was about to pass out again, but she didn’t.  She seemed lively and alert.

“Donna, breath.  We don’t need you passing out again, do we?”

“I’m not crazy.  I know you.  We’ve met.  But it wasn’t me.  It was a dream.  Do you remember being in my head?  I remember you being there.  I don’t want to forget again, Doctor.”

He wanted to calm her, but he knew the only way to do that was to explain what was happening so she didn’t think she was crazy.

“Everything will be fine.  You won’t forget.”

“Am I crazy?”

“No, it doesn’t seem you are.  It seems that you’ve got the other Donna’s memories up to the point of her and the other Doctor’s departure from this Earth,” he mostly said to himself.

“The other Donna?  What do you mean?”

He began by telling her everything.  He was a 900-year-old Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey.  He sometimes took on companions and Rose was his companion in his ninth and tenth incarnations.  He added that both Martha and the other Donna were his companions during his tenth incarnation, but that his knowledge of the other Doctor ended when they came to this Earth.  The Earth that he and Rose call Pete’s World.  

He explained the Meta-Crisis and how his part-human side came from her.  She was Pete’s World version of the Donna he knew.  He also told her that it was likely that when she passed out two years ago, it was at the same time he was born from that hand and instead of being like a dream, it felt that she was living it.  

“I don’t remember anything after the blue box, the TARDIS, took off on the beach.  I had forgotten your faces until today.  When I saw you, I remembered it all, but when I woke up, I forgot again.  Will I forget when you walk out of the room?”

“I’m not sure, but I think the reason you had the same reaction earlier today that you had two years ago was because of the shock.  I don’t think you will forget again. At least I hope you don’t,” he smiled.

“Me either.  I know I’m not her, but I remember everything you two did together.  How can we explain how this happened?  There has to be a reason, right?”

“Most likely, but then it could further prove a theory I’ve had since my arrival here.  After I got here, I got heavy into research.  I was trying to find a way to communicate with my other self.  At the time, I felt lonely.  In this world, there is no Gallifrey, so the chances of there being a Master or any other Time Lord was out of the question.  Not that I would welcome the Master with open arms, but knowing you’re alone is very hard to deal with.

“I kept hitting brick walls with my research and then Rose and I got closer.  I realized that my half-human side was just as important as my Time Lord side and I was surrounded by humans!  I couldn’t be alone if I tried.  So, I gave up that research and decided to focus on what I had and not what I didn’t have.

“I did find, however, that there is some connection between the different worlds’ versions of people.  It may be small or seem non-existent, but I found that when someone has a dream that they’re doing something that the dreamer has never done, it was probably one of their other versions doing it.

“There are only a few people that know about my true identity, and they all helped me to confirm my theory.  All but Rose because there seems to only be one of her.  One-of-kind Rose,” he smiled proudly.

“So, everything in my dreams were done by your world’s Donna?  Bloody hell, her life is fascinating.  Nothing interesting ever happens to me and here she is, travelling the world in a blue box and saving lives.”

“She was travelling.  She’s back to her old life now, with no memory of me.  But she is brilliant and a great mate.”

“Why would anyone give that life up?  If I had a chance to travel and I could bring Shaun along, I would never want to stop.”

“She didn’t have a choice.  See, when I was born, I took on her human traits.  I got bits of her personality and I got her humanness.  She got my brain,” he said pointing to his head.  “This is a Time Lord brain.  Not something a human can handle really.  The other Doctor was forced to remove every memory she had of her time with me to save her life.  If he hadn’t, she would have died.  What I suspect is that you were dreaming what was happening when I was born into this body, but you forgot it because she did.  Then when you saw me again, it was what would have happened if she suddenly remembered everything, except you wouldn’t die because it didn’t really happen to you, so you got a minor symptom from it.  I think now that you know the truth, you’ll be okay.”

“What a day, huh?”

“Yeah.  I’d say so.  But if you’re feeling up to it, I don’t see a reason you can’t go home.  Your vitals only reacted the way they did because of the shock, but you’re okay now.  I’d recommend taking a few days off.  Paid medical leave, of course.  And if you are feeling up to it, Rose and I would love to have you and Shaun come to the Tyler Mansion for our engagement party on Saturday.”

Donna sat up with excitement.  “Really, you want us there?”

“Yeah, bring Wilf and Sylvia too.  The invitation stands for the wedding too, but you’ll get a formal invitation for that, I’m sure.”

“We’d love to!”

“Yeah, you and I are going shopping.  I need a new dress,” Rose said as she entered the room.  “Everything all good in here?”

“ _Molto Bene!_ ” The Doctor and Donna said in unison.


	9. Shopping with an Heiress

The next day, Donna was getting ready to go to a boutique down the street with Rose. She was excited to spend a little outside-of-work time with Rose and to get to know her better.

She checked her clock. Rose would there any minute, so she went outside.

As she got in, she said, “Thank you so much for inviting me to come along with you, Rose.”

“Oh, it’s my pleasure! I haven’t got any girlfriends. It will be nice to have one now, as long as you don’t mind being around your boss that much.”

“Are you kidding me? I love it! And you know, since I remember everything that the Doctor and I did, it will be nice being around him too. I have to get that man to eat though.” Both women laughed.

“Here we are.”

“'Cover Up'. Well that’s a clever name, isn’t it? I think this place is fairly new. I don’t remember it being here for more than a few months,” Donna said.

“Yeah. It’s new. I’m not sure if you have a Henrik’s here either. On our world, I used to work at a department store called Henrik’s and that’s where I met the Doctor. He actually blew it up the day I met him. To stop an attack. It was the best day of my life.”

“Henrik’s does exist here. Why was it the best day of your life? Because you met the love of your life or you didn’t have to go back to work?” Donna chuckled.

“A little of both, I reckon. Although at the time, he had big ears and a letter jacket. Still attractive, but not the same man you see now.”

They walked in and began to browse.

“What do you think, Donna?” Rose held up a blue dress.

“TARDIS blue,” she whispered. “Try it on.”

“Try some dresses on yourself. You’ll need two. I think our wedding colors are going to be blue and black. That’s a bruise,” Rose realized. “Oh well. The groomsmen will be wearing black tuxes with blue accents and you’ll be in black. I don’t have a specific style so any black dress will do.”

“Wait, what?”

“Oh,” Rose laughed. “I forgot to ask. Will you be my matron-of-honour?”

“Me? You don’t even know me. I’m honoured, but why me?”

“I know you, the other you, well enough to know that we get on. You were the Doctor’s best mate and I think given time, we will be too. If you don’t want to, I understand completely.”

“Not want to? I’d love to. So black, you said?”

Donna began looking for a dress to wear at the party, while keeping an eye out for a suitable matron-of-honour dress. She found a great dress, in chocolate brown, for the party, but then she noticed the price was way out of her budget and buying two was completely out of the question. She quickly texted Shaun and asked if they had any wiggle room for them to be able to buy the dress for Saturday and she would just figure out the wedding dress later. He told her to go ahead and get it.

“Who ya textin’?” Rose asked Donna in a playful tone.

“Oh, just Shaun. I wanted to ask him which account I should use to buy my dress,” she lied. She was pretty sure Rose knew she wasn’t as wealthy as a Tyler, but she didn’t want her to know she was living paycheck to paycheck either.

“Don’t be silly! The dresses are on me.”

“Seriously? Both of them?”

“Yeah. Both of them. Now go try on that one. I like it. I’ll look around for some black ones for you to try on.”

Donna made her way to the dressing room and tried on the chocolate brown dress she found. She examined herself in the mirror, swishing the bottom of the dress from left to right. She decided it suited her nicely and she stepped out to get Rose’s opinion.

As soon as Rose saw Donna, she gasped. “You are beautiful. I love it on you. I found these for you to try on.” Rose held out two black dresses and Donna took her favorite and made her way back to try it on.

She went back into the dressing room and tried on the dress Rose picked out. It fit her nicely and it accented the right parts of her body. She decided this was it. “‘Kay. I got my dresses. Did the blue one work out for you?”

“Yup, got it right here,” she said holding up an arm covered in dresses. Donna assumed Rose’s was buried under hers.

They made their way to the check-out and Rose pulled out her credit card and paid the clerk.

“Thank you, Ms. Tyler. See you next time.”

“Thank you, Shareen.”

As they walked out of the boutique, Rose shook her head in disbelief.

“What’s wrong?”

“That girl was my best mate in high school on my world. We are exactly the same age and she is calling me Ms. Tyler. Oh, how times have changed,” she grinned.

“Yeah, they have, haven’t they?”

They made their way back to Donna’s house, laughing the whole way back at some of the Doctor’s many quirks.

“Do you ever catch him checking himself out in the mirror?” Donna asked.

“Yes! All the time! He is so obsessed with his hair. I hate to see when he starts getting greys. All hell with break loose, won’t it?”

“I know it did when I started finding them amongst the red. Gotta keep on top of that.” They laughed.

When they pulled up to Donna’s flat, she got out with the two big dress bags in her arms. “Thank you so much for the dresses, Rose. See you Saturday, then?” She said through the window.

“Yep. The limo will be by to pick you up at six o’clock. Does Shaun and your granddad have formal attire? If not, I can send my dad’s tailor over to fit them. Also, does your mom need a dress?”

“No, the guys have their tuxes from my wedding. My mom has the dress she wore, so she will be set too.”

“‘Kay! Let me know if you need anything before Saturday. If not, I’ll see you then!”

“See you!”

Donna made her way to her door, giddy as a schoolgirl. She had made a friend, reunited with a friend she hadn’t been aware she had and now, she was the matron-of-honour in Rose Tyler and Doctor John Smith’s wedding. Her life had changed so much in the last couple days and she couldn’t have been happier.

* * *

Rose called the Doctor using the car’s Bluetooth system. He answered after two or three rings, “Hello, my beautiful bride-to-be.”

“Well, hello, handsome,” she chuckled. “I just dropped Donna off back at her house and she agreed to be my matron-of-honour, so she got a dress for that too. Also Shareen called me, ‘Ms. Tyler.’”

The Doctor laughed. “You are, Ms. Tyler. She doesn’t know you in this world, so it’s a sign of respect.”

“Yeah, this is coming from the man who corrects people anytime they call you Doctor Smith. ‘Call me John or Doctor,’” she mocked.

“Yeah. I suppose. Are you coming back to work or going home?”

“I don’t have anything to do today at work, so I’ll head to Mum’s and talk to her about wedding stuff. She’ll love that.”

“Okay, I’ll see you tonight. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

* * *

Shaun was home from work and Gramps and Mum were in the kitchen gabbing about the president’s new policies. Donna didn’t much care for politics, so she made her way to her and Shaun’s bedroom to tell him the news.

“Hello, Darling,” Shaun greeted his wife as she walked in the room.

“Hiya! Guess what! You will never guess what happened not even an hour ago.”

“What?”

“Well, first off, I didn’t pay a dime for these two dresses,” she said, holding the dresses up in each hand. She lowered the black dress and held up the brown one. “This one is for the party on Saturday. Wait ‘til you see me in it,” she winked and lowered it, in favor of raising up the black one. “The one is for the wedding. I have to match the rest of the wedding party, don’t I?”

“Wait, what? The wedding party? You’re in the wedding?”

“Yes, Mr. Temple. Your wife is the matron-of-honour at Rose Tyler and Doctor John Smith’s wedding!”

“How’d you swing that gig, love? That is awesome, by the way!”

“Well, she said that she thinks we could become best mates and she hasn’t got any other girlfriends, so she asked me.”

Donna was still on the fence about whether to tell Shaun about already knowing the Doctor and Rose. Gramps always believed in aliens and parallel universes, so it was easy telling him. Besides, he had sort of figured out that some supernatural being fixed the sky when the stars were going out and so it was easy for her to explain that his full Time Lord self had done that. Gramps always took things in stride anyway.

Shaun and Mum, on the other hand, were always so skeptical about people and what their motives were. When it came to Donna, they were way too overprotective and always believed that people had an ulterior motive, especially since Mum lived through the Lance fiasco and she played it up to Shaun so convincingly.

“I’m very happy for you. It’s sort of weird getting that close with your boss though, isn’t it? I mean, she’s your boss. Why would you want to?”

“She’s a really sweet girl and she makes…” she had to pause, remembering to call the Doctor, John, “John, so happy.”

“You know him less than you know her. Why are you so concerned with his happiness?”

“They are nice people. I want people to be happy and they make each other happy. Besides, I care about others.”

“Since when?” Shaun joked.

“Since now,” she laughed.

She began to make her way to the kitchen, hoping that Gramps and Mum were done talking politics and to tell them the news.

Donna burst into the kitchen, “Guess who will be standing in the Tyler-Smith wedding!”

“It must be you, Sweetheart,” Gramps stated, excitedly.

“It is, indeed, Gramps. I have been asked to be Rose Tyler’s matron-of-honour. I have to plan her hen party, don’t I? What does an heiress enjoy doing for a hen party? She told me she hasn’t got any other friends. That’s sad, really. Maybe we’ll just have a girls’ night at the club. Drinking and dancing, eh? That sounds fun.”

“You’ll figure it out, my darling. You always do.” Gramps clapped his hands together, “Sylvia, our Donna is making us so proud, isn’t she?”

“Yeah, Dad. She is.” Mum said with an eye roll and a pout.

“Oh, Mum. Can’t you ever be excited for me?”

“I’m excited, I’m excited. Just you barely know her is all. Why would she ask a person she barely knows to be a bridesmaid, let alone a matron-of-honour.”

“Oh, can it, Sylvia. Just be happy for her, for Pete’s sake. Stop being so suspicious,” Gramps piped up, with a little wink at Donna.

“Alright, alright. I’m happy for you, Dear. Dad, we have to get our things to the dry cleaners. Shaun too,” she said to Donna. “Were you able to get a dress. Shaun said you were dress shopping.”

“Yeah. I got both of them. She paid for them too.”

“That’s lovely. Very nice of her.”

Donna could tell her mum was trying, but was having a difficult time accepting this sudden friendship, but Donna knew she’d have a harder time accepting that she was friends with a man who was half-alien, half-her and his heiress bride-to-be from another universe. She had to admit that if she hadn’t mentally lived through it, she would doubt it herself.


	10. Hundreds of Our Closest Friends

Saturday rolled around pretty quickly. It was a start to a very wonderful life. Rose wasn’t extremely happy to be sharing her engagement announcement with all of Vitex and the press, but she knew it was what had to be done as Pete and Jackie Tyler’s daughter.

Rose sat on her bed and began thinking about her life growing up on Powell Estate. She had lived there her entire life, until she met the Doctor at nineteen. After she met him, she considered the TARDIS her home. She lived a simple life, Mickey being her best friend and first love. She was happy and although Rose knew that her mum missed her dad, she knew her mum was happy too. After watching her dad die in that street, she realized that no matter what her mum thought about her dad, she would never let Rose’s image of him be anything other than wonderful.

Going back a second time and being there with him, letting him figure out who she was and giving him that second chance her mum didn’t know he had, had helped her mum to realize the loss of him. Her husband loved her and cared for her. Now, she had that. After meeting this world’s Pete, Rose discovered that he was harder than her other dad. He had seen more, he was more jaded. After Cybermen had taken _his_ Jackie, he had lost what her mum had lost. The love of their lives. Rose knew what it felt like to lose the love of your life. And all three of them knew what it was like to get them back, albeit not in the same fashion, but in a way that worked for them.

Rose's thoughts were disrupted when the Doctor walked into the room.

“You okay?” He said.

“Yeah, fine. What’s up?”

“Just coming in to get my tux,” he shuddered slightly when he said the word.

Rose smiled knowingly. “I always did love you in a tux, ya know? Even though bad things happen when you’re in one.”

“You do, Ms. Tyler? And why’s that?”

“Because you look so sexy,” her tongue poked through her teeth and she made her way to her fiancé. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately.

The Doctor cleared his throat, “Well, yes. I suppose I’m not all that bad looking in a tux, am I?”

Rose remained firm in her current position, “No, not at all bad looking. Well, you know what, actually, I prefer you out of a tux, with nothing on at all. Makes it easier to do this.”

Rose pushed him on the bed and removed the boxers he had on. She hadn’t yet started getting dressed, so all she had on were her bra and knickers. The Doctor hurriedly removed both of them and she climbed on top of him.

“That’s better, isn’t it?”

* * *

The Doctor didn’t fall asleep, but Rose had. Legs entwined with his and her head on his chest. He kissed her forehead and remembered his time without Rose. In his best estimate, it is not advisable to go without Rose Tyler in your life once you’ve met her. It’s simply heartbreaking.

He had Martha and Donna, but they weren’t Rose. They helped him cope, but it wasn’t the same feeling he had when Rose was around. The Doctor thought that might have been the biggest issue for Martha. She wasn’t Rose and he was trying to fill the emptiness he had without her, and Martha, or rather no one, could fill that void. Martha wanted to do that and couldn’t. Donna knew she couldn’t and understood. No one can replace the love of your life. Even a life as long as his.

Rose stirred. “Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” he smiled his winning Doctor smile. “Ready to get clothed and get going?”

“Yeah. I think so,” she said, stretching, “Thank you for earlier. I needed that after the week we’ve had.”

“Anytime,” he chuckled. “Don’t act like I've done _you_ a favor.”

“Oh, but you did. That is always a favor to me,” she winked and they both laughed.

* * *

Rose went into their en suite and slipped on the blue dress she bought at Cover Up. It was in a protective bag, so the Doctor hadn’t seen it yet. She put on black stockings with black high heels. Her hair up in a bun using a few bobby pins.

She found herself wearing less makeup the older she got. She wasn’t sure if it was because she knew the Doctor didn’t think she needed it or if it was because she felt confident enough not to have to. Maybe a combination of both. She opted to just wear a little mascara and lip gloss.

As she walked out, her date was standing there looking as gorgeous as ever. He had on a traditional black and white tux.

“You look gorgeous, Rose. TARDIS blue? Perfect.”

“Don’t look so bad yourself, handsome.”

He bowed his arm, “Shall we?”

“We shall.”

* * *

They were advised by Jackie, the one-woman party-planning committee, to arrive fashionably late, so that they would be the centre of attention. They both commented how they would be the centre of attention regardless, considering the party was for them, but Jackie would have none of that.

They arrived at the Tyler Mansion at about fifteen past seven.

“Perfect timing, Sweetheart. Donna and her family are here. They will be sitting at your table in front. After you get settled and do your meet and greet, your dad will announce the big news. Don’t forget to offer a dance with the investors and such.” She looked to the Doctor. “Especially, you. The lady investors love you, so woe ‘em.”

Jackie walked away and back to Pete, as if her requests were completely normal.

Rose walked around, greeting everyone she saw, as did the Doctor. Rose counted at least seven promises to dance and after they met up at the table with Donna, Shaun, Wilf and Sylvia, the Doctor counted fifteen promised dances.

The room became quiet as Pete made his way to the podium.

“Good evening, Vitex employees, investors and family. As you probably know, I am Pete Tyler, owner of Vitex, Incorporated. My wife, Jackie and I have asked you here today to announce some very exciting news. Our daughter, Rose, has agreed to a proposal from Doctor John Smith. The wedding will held in a private ceremony in five weeks time.”

The room erupted with excited chatter. Everyone, it seemed, was approaching the Doctor and Rose to congratulate them on their upcoming nuptials. Trying to make her way through the crowd, the Doctor spotted Marie and a man she looked quite similar to.

“Is that Owen Harper?” The Doctor asked Rose.

“Yup, that’s him.”

Finally, Marie made her way to the couple.

“Doctor, Rose,” she nodded to Rose, “congratulations again. Rose, you know my brother Owen. Doctor, this is my brother, Owen Harper. The invitation said I could bring a plus one.”

“Oh, that is great. Nice to meet you, Doctor Harper.”

“It’s Owen, mate.”

“Right! Okay, then. Did you bring any of the your other team? Gwen, Toshiko, Ianto, perhaps?”

Rose had told the Doctor of Pete’s World Cardiff Torchwood team, but said there had been no Captain Jack Harkness in the company on record. But of course, he had met the other Gwen and Ianto.

“I believe Pete invited them. They must be here somewhere. Gwen brought her husband, Rhys,” he said, with a grimace.

Right on cue, two faces the Doctor recognized joined the group, along with a woman and a man they had never met.  

The woman he recognized as Gwen spoke first. “Congratulations! I’m Gwen Cooper-Williams. This is my husband Rhys,” she said extending her hand for a shake and pointing to Rhys with the other. “I work with Owen at Torchwood Three. I run the place now. We’ve heard so much about you. And it’s nice to finally see you in person, Ms. Tyler.”

“Call me, Rose. He’s just called the Doctor,” Rose smiled, shaking her hand in return. “You must be Ianto Jones. Pleased to meet you,” Rose said to the handsome stoic man.

“You as well, ma’am.”

“No use in getting him to call you Rose. He calls all of us ‘ma’am’ and I’m only slightly older,” the other woman they didn’t recognized finally spoke up.

“You must be Toshiko Sato,” the Doctor extended his hand. He then realized he had met her before, albeit briefly and with a different set of eyes. He was dealing with the Slitheen invasion and she was examining a pig from space.

The Doctor soon realized that Owen and Toshiko were not present during his and Rose’s encounter with Gwen and Ianto and he briefly wondered why.

“Yes, sir. You can call me Tosh. I’m the tech expert at Torchwood Three. It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too, Tosh. Call me Doctor or John. Please.”

“Of course,” she smiled, shyly.

“Now, for a really important question,” the Doctor began. “Have any of you heard of a man by the name of Captain Jack Harkness? American accent, bit flirty, not unattractive.” Rose nodded at the last description.

“No, sir,” Ianto piped up. The Doctor decided not to correct him.

“No, huh? That’s too bad, then, isn’t it, Rose?”

“Yeah. Real, real bad. Would have been nice to catch up with him. Guess he went back to America, didn’t he?”

“Guess so.” This exchange was in a very playful Doctor and Rose manner. They both knew the possibility of them knowing Jack was slim, but it was worth a shot.

Donna sat in her chair, sipping on the margarita she had ordered at the beginning of the night. She was holding in a fit of laughter, because she too remembered that handsome man called Captain Jack Harkness.

“May I have a word, Rose?” Surprisingly, it was Tosh that requested the sidebar.

“Sure! Doctor, can you hold this, please?” She handed him her glass of champagne and he took it silently.

Rose led Tosh to what used to be her room when she lived there. It was secluded enough from the party, that whatever Tosh was about to tell her, no one would hear it.

“What’s up?”

“I just wanted to let you know that I know about you.”

“About me? What do you mean?”

“I know you aren’t from here. Not this Earth, I mean. You and the Doctor came from another Earth. See, I was seeing this girl, Mary, and she worked on the Dimension Cannon team. She told me how you were tirelessly looking for him. She let slip that there was no sign of a Rose Tyler ever being born here and that one day, you just appeared and your parents said you were away at boarding school. I’ve not told anyone, and never will. I just wanted to let you know that you’re not alone in the knowledge. If you ever need to talk, you can talk to me.”

“Thank you, Tosh. Especially for keeping it a secret. If this gets out,...”

“I know. I haven’t even told Gwen.”

“Brilliant. Thank you, again. I’d like to casually invite you and your team to the wedding in five weeks. You will receive a formal invitation soon though.”

“That would be lovely. Thank you. By the way, the man the Doctor mentioned. Captain Jack Harkness?” Rose nodded. “I’ve met him. He was an American soldier. Handsome, flirtatious. Just like the Doctor described him. How do you know him?”

“I knew him in the other world. He was the head of Torchwood Three. When I first met him, he was a time agent posing as a soldier. We met during the London Blitz. Called me Rosie,” she reminisced. “He was a charmer, that one.”

Tosh nodded, “Well, I know he’s in America now. He was in Cardiff on vacation. I met him at a bar one night when Ianto, Owen and I went out after work. I was the only one that saw him. He seemed down. Said he was drinking his sorrows away. It never got more detailed than that, but then that night, I looked him up. Not for any particular reason, other than the fact that he looked different than any soldier I’d ever seen. He wore a World War Two trench coat. I found out he was in his mid-thirties, had been in the military for about fifteen years and he was unmarried. Nothing too interesting about him, really. Just a lonely soldier.”

“Well, the Jack I knew was definitely not uninteresting. Thank you, Tosh. I’ll tell the Doctor. He’ll probably be happy to know that Jack exists, even if he doesn’t try to find him.”

“No problem. Shall we?” Tosh nodded towards the door.

“Sure!”

The ladies made their way back to the party, where Rose had discovered the Doctor had already invited their new friends to the wedding.

* * *

Later that night, when Rose and the Doctor made their way back to their flat, they hurriedly changed into pajamas. Rose hadn’t decided how or if she would tell the Doctor about Jack. Would it make any difference? It wasn’t the same person and what happened with Donna would never happen with Jack. Jack wasn’t even meant to be in this century, let alone in this universe, which would make figuring out his situation even more difficult.

After a few minutes of quiet reflection, she surmised it would be best to not mention anything about Jack. Maybe after the wedding when they had more time to focus on things of an unordinary nature.

“So, what’d Tosh want to speak with you about?” The Doctor sat down next to Rose and took her in his arms.

“Well, she actually knows about us. About how I’m not from here and how I built the Dimension Cannon to find you. She dated a girl on my team who told her everything, but she promised to not tell anyone and I trust her.”

“Yeah. She seems nice enough. We’ll let Pete know she knows so he can look out if things don’t seem right.”

“Yeah.” Rose yawned. “I’m headed to bed. You coming?”

“Yep. Right behind you.”


	11. Preparations

Rose was picked up by her parents’ limo the week before her wedding.  Her mother was nestled inside in some getup she would have never been caught in during her time on Powell Estate.

“Hello, Sweetheart.  Are you excited?  The big day next week!”

“Yes, Mum.  I’m excited.  Where to first?”

“We need to get your dress, flowers, the tuxes, and the cake.  I talked to the Doctor.  He is at the tux shop with Pete, Tony and Adam.  We are going to meet them there and then the Doctor will follow us to the cake shop.  The invitations were sent last week.  Charlie, we will be going to the bridal shop down the street, please.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the Welsh chauffeur said.

As the limo pulled up outside the bridal shop, the owners were outside waiting and holding the double doors open for Rose.  She felt like royalty, although in this moment, she sort of wished they would have taken her modest car and drove there like any regular mother and daughter duo.

She walked in and saw the wavy ginger curls that could only belong to one person.

“Donna!  So glad you’re here!”

“Your mum phoned and said to meet you here.  We’re making a day of it!”

“Brilliant!  Let’s get started, shall we?”

Rose had done some research in magazines and the internet and decided the general look of her dress.  Before she could tell the clerk that, the clerk started spouting off specifications of _the_ dresses they had.

First, she held up a dress with long sleeves and puffy arms.  Rose felt like she was back at her parents’ wedding.  “No, definitely not,” she said.

“How about this one?  It’s a mermaid style, v-neck.”

“No, actually, I did some research.  I liked the style of an A-line, tank style.  Do you have any of those?”

“Yes, of course, Ms. Tyler.”

The clerk disappeared into the back room for several minutes, but then reemerged, carrying three dresses.  “These are the ones that fit your description.  This one,” she said as she held up the first dress, “comes with a sequin area that would cover your cleavage and the straps.”

Rose took the dress from the clerk, deciding she would try on each of the dresses she was shown.

“This one has a bodice.  It’s less flowing, as you can see, the bodice is beaded.  And lastly, this one has spaghetti straps and it has lace that covers the entire dress from top to bottom.  This one is my personal favorite, because it accentuates all the right places, but it’s still modest and timeless.”

“Oh, this one is lovely.  I’ll try all of them on.  Thank you,” she squinted to read the name tag, “Susan.”

She made her way to the dressing area and decided to try on her least favorite first.  It was the one with the beaded bodice.  She walked out to show the dress to Donna and her mum.

“It is pretty, but it doesn’t seem you, does it?  Do you like it?”

“I like the bottom, but not the bodice.  It’s too restricting, I think.  I’ll try on the sequins strapped one.”

She went back to the dressing room and removed the dress she had on, putting it on what she decided was the discard pile.  She put on the next dress and walked out to her waiting party again.

“Oh, my daughter!  Beautiful, isn’t it, Donna?”

“Yes, Mrs. Tyler.  It is gorgeous.”

“Rose, it’s beautiful.”

“I like this one better than the first, but I’m going to try on this last dress to see how it looks.”

Before they could give their opinion, she took the final dress and darted back to the dressing room.  As soon as she put it on, she felt it.  This was the dress she was meant to wear.  It was flowing from top to bottom and because she wasn’t very tall, the back of the dress doubled as a train.  Tears began to fall.  She heard that that was supposed to happen when you found  _the_  dress.

She walked out, with tears in her eyes.  She didn’t consider herself a bridezilla by any means, but she knew that the dress was one of the most important things about wedding planning.  She also realized that she could wear a burlap sack and the Doctor would think she was beautiful.

Jackie gasped.  Donna got up quickly to examine the dress closer.  All three women were speechless, which was saying quite a bit for Donna and Jackie.

“This is it.  It’s perfect, isn’t it?”

“Sweetheart, you are the beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.  This is definitely it.”

Rose got Susan’s attention.

“I’ve decided on this one.  It doesn’t seem to need to be tailored, so I’ll take it now, please.”

“Sure thing, Ms. Tyler.  I’ll get it bagged for you.  Will you be needing to look at bridesmaids dresses today, as well?”

Rose looked to Donna, “You still happy with the one you got at Cover Up?”

“Yup!  I’m all set.”

“No, Susan.  Thank you.”

Rose didn’t have anyone in mind to be a flower girl either.  When she first was trapped in Pete’s World, she didn’t find the time to make friends.  She was too wrapped up in finding a way back to the Doctor.  Then, once she found the Doctor, they were so involved in each other, they didn’t try making friends either. 

Making friends had always come naturally to the Doctor, however.  As soon as he started working for the science department at Torchwood, he became friends with everyone in his department.  As a researcher, Rose’s job was a lonely one with only her and her assistant there at any given time.

She didn’t know anyone who had a daughter and Tony went to an all-boy private school, so he didn’t have any little girl friends.  No, it would just be the Doctor, Rose, Adam, Donna and Tony.

“Ready to head to the flower shop?”

“Yeah.”  Rose had her dress draped over her arm.  There was a section in the back of the limo where she could hang it and when they got outside, she carefully did.

The three women entered the flower shop and were greeted by Lili, the owner of the store.

“Welcome to Lili’s Bouquet.  I'm Lili Cooper. What can I help you with today?”

“My daughter here is getting married on Saturday.  She is having a small wedding, only about ten tables, so we will need ten centerpieces, her bridal bouquet, a bridesmaid bouquet, one pin corsage and four boutonnieres.”  Rose and Donna looked at Jackie in amazement.  She hadn’t even needed a cheat sheet for that order.

“Absolutely.  What flowers were you thinking about?”

“Roses,” Rose piped up and looked at her mum, “The irony.  I have to.”

“Okay, and what color?”

“Our wedding colors are blue or black, so I’m thinking white roses and if you have something to add a splash of black and blue that would be great.”

“Sure.  We can do whatever you would like us to.”

“The wedding is Saturday.  That is doable, isn’t it?” Jackie said.

“Absolutely.  We will prepare them on Friday with freshly cut roses and then deliver them to your venue on Saturday morning.”

“Great.”

Lili brought out a book with pictures of all of their required flower items.

“I know you said roses, but we have this centerpiece here with white roses and blue hydrangeas.  We could also do a white rose bouquet for you and a white rose and blue hydrangea bouquet for your bridesmaid.  The boutonnieres can have one of each flower, or maybe one rose and two hydrangeas on either side.  Lastly, the pin corsage can have two roses and three hydrangeas.  For the centerpieces, we can put the flowers in a short glass vase and have a black ribbon around its base.  Does that sound like something you’re looking for?”

“Yes.  That sounds lovely.”

“Okay, and what name shall I put the order under?”

“You can put it under my name, Rose Tyler.”

Lili looked up in shock, obviously not realizing she had been speaking with Rose Tyler for the past ten minutes.  “Of course, Ms. Tyler.  Congratulations, by the way.”

“Thank you." Rose smiled.  “Would you be able to deliver them to the Tyler mansion for us?  Around eight in the morning, Saturday?”

“Yes, ma’am.  We will also set up the centerpieces for you, if you’d like.  On the house.”

“That would be wonderful.  Thank you, Lili.”

* * *

They pulled up to the tuxedo shop and the Doctor was sitting on the bench outside with Adam and Tony.  She melted when she saw how well he did with Tony when he didn’t know she was around.

Pete was also outside, off to the side, talking on his mobile.  When he saw Rose and Jackie, he could be faintly heard saying, “Okay, Jake.  The ladies are here.  Keep up the good work and call me if there is a development.  Okay.  Talk to you later.”

“What’s that about, Dad?”

“Oh, Jake caught a nest of Weevils.  Wanted to keep me updated.  How are the most beautiful women in my life?  Hi, Donna.  Nice to see you again and might I say you look beautiful as well.”  Jackie cleared her throat and smiled.

“Hi,” Rose told the Doctor as he approached her.

“Hi.” He grinned.  “Donna Temple-Noble, how’re you today?”

“Perfect!”

“Brilliant!  Are we ready to get our penguin suits?”

“I am, I am!” Tony shouted.  Jackie shot the Doctor a look.

“Remember when Mummy said that you’d have to wear a tuxedo to the wedding?”

“Yeah, but you said I could get a penguin suit too.”

“You have to get the tuxedo first and wear it to Rose’s wedding and then Mummy and Daddy will get you a penguin suit, okay?”

“Okay!”

“Sorry,” the Doctor mouthed to Jackie.

She rolled her eyes.

The group of them made their way inside and the Doctor immediately led them to a layout of tuxedos.

“What do you ladies think of these?  I have this one for me,” he held up a black tuxedo with a TARDIS blue vest and bowtie.  “The smaller one is for Tony, of course.  I figured he should be dressed like me.”

He picked up one with a TARDIS blue long tie and vest.  “This style can be for Pete and Adam.”

“These look great, Doctor,”  Rose said with a smile as she kissed him.

Jackie looked pleasantly surprised that the guys were able to make these decent decisions without her help.

“Nice choices, eh?  I quite like the blue color,” Adam said and Donna nodded, agreeing.

“Right!  Pete, will you make sure these get back to the mansion?” the Doctor asked, sounding relieved that it was over.  “Next up is the cake.  I’ve been looking forward to this bit.”

“My dress too, Dad.  Please,” Rose grinned at her dad.  “Make sure you put it out of sight of prying eyes,” she said, shooting a look at the Doctor.

“I’ll take Tony and Adam and the clothes back to the house.  You guys fancy a game of football?”

“Sure,” Adam answered.

“Yeah!” Tony exclaimed.

Pete, Adam and Tony got into the limo while Rose, the Doctor, Jackie and Donna made their way to the SUV that Pete was driving.  The Doctor took the wheel.

* * *

When they arrived at the bakery, the Doctor got out of the SUV quickly.  He walked to Rose and inhaled deeply.  

“Now this is great.  Best part of this whole thing, really.”

Rose gave him a look.

“Other than the actual marrying you part.”

Rose giggled quietly and an oblivious Jackie made her way to the doors and to the nearest table and sat down, waiting to be served.

“Hi, Mrs. Tyler.  I’m Luann.  I believe we spoke on the phone,” said a strawberry blonde woman with a husky voice and a big binder.

Jackie turned to meet Luann’s gaze and extended her hand.  “Yes, Luann.  This is my daughter, Rose, her fiancé, John and their maid-of-honour, Donna.   Thank you for meeting with us so close to the wedding.

“Rose, Luann assures me that she can have the cakes finished and delivered by Saturday morning.”

“Yes, ma’am.  We certainly can.  May I show you some styles?  After you pick a style, we will taste some samples so you can pick your flavours.  I’ll need to talk to Rose privately, of course,” she looked at the Doctor.  “You can’t see the groom’s cake she picks for you, now can you?”

“I get my own cake?  Wow!  Today just gets better and better, doesn’t it?  Sure, sure.  Take all the time you need.”

The women laughed.

Luann laid the binder on the table and sat across from them.

“Your mum has given me some idea about the look of your wedding.  The colors are black, blue and white, is that right?”

“Yes,” Rose said, smiling.  “I’ve looked at a few cakes, but these are beautiful.  I thought I’d have a white cake with mostly black accents but a hint of blue.  The rest could be left up to your creativity.”

She flipped to a page labeled “W70.”  

“As you can see, this cake is a white fondant with a black damask design and a black ribbon, but instead of black, I can make the ribbon out of blue fondant.  The center stone here can be made to look like a black opal or a sapphire.  Or if you’d prefer, we can make the damask and the ribbon black and the center stone holding the ribbon can be made to look like the blue sapphire.

“We also have this design,” she said as she flipped to page W110.  “It’s a quilted white cake.  In this example, which is only three tiers, the top and bottom are quilted and the middle is black damask with a black ribbon.  We can do something like this, but have the quilt points blue instead of black and use the blue sapphire look for the ribbon here as well.”

“Do you mind if we take a look at the rest of the book?”

“Oh, not at all!  Take your time.  I’ll give you a little bit and I’ll be back.”

“Thanks,” Jackie and Rose said.

“What do you think, Doctor?”

“I like anything you pick.  It’s what’s on the inside that matters to me,” he said with a grin.  “Besides, I get my own cake.  This cake is yours.”

Jackie looked at Rose, “You know when I married this Pete, he said the same thing.”

Rose smiled.  “I think I’ve decided.”  Rose looked in Luann’s direction and when she noticed, she made her way back to the table with a tray full of cake and filling samples.

The Doctor licked his lips.

“That was quick!  Have you decided?”

“Yes.  I think we want to go with W110’s design and have each tier the quilted pattern and have the ribbon in the middle with the blue sapphire design as the ribbon center and each quilt point will have a little sapphire design to it.  Is that possible?”

“Absolutely!  Sounds lovely.  How many tiers do you think you’ll need?”

“I think four will be enough.  If possible, I’d like a mini cake for just us, as well.  I read that couples freeze it and eat it together on their first anniversary, but I don’t want to ward people off of the actual cake.”

“Sure, I can make a mini one with just the quilted design that would closely resemble the top tier if it had been.”

“Great!”

“Now, for every groom’s favorite part,” Luann said, looking at the Doctor.

“Oh, yes!” he exclaimed.

“I’ve got here a few of our cake flavors and a few of our fillings.  I do have more in the back if none of these suit your taste buds.  Dark chocolate, vanilla, red velvet and carrot for the cakes.”  

She handed a tiny plastic spoon to each of them. “These are the fillings.  I brought out peanut butter, cream cheese, banana and strawberry.  Mrs. Tyler said that your favorite is banana, John.”

“It is, indeed, but I think Rose will probably choose that for me for my groom’s cake.”

“Of course, I will.”

Donna was being uncharacteristically quiet.  “What do you think of these, Donna?”

“Oh, I love them all.  I’m crazy with cakes.  When Shaun and I were choosing, I think I had a fit over what to choose.  Came here actually.  I believe Olivia served us.”

“Yes.  Olivia is actually on her own honeymoon this week, but I’ll make sure to tell her you were in.”

“That’d be great.  Thanks.  And tell her I said ‘congratulations.’”

Luann nodded, “So, Rose, what do you think?”

“Mum?”

“It’s your cake, Sweetheart.  I’m just here for support and my chequebook.”

“I think I’ll go with the carrot cake with cream cheese filling.  Seems to go together well.”

“Sure.  Great!  So we have your cake all settled.”

“Come on, Doctor.  Let’s let the ladies talk about you,” Jackie urged the Doctor to get up.

The Doctor got up and followed Jackie.  Meanwhile, Rose and Donna stayed behind with Luann to discuss the Doctor’s groom’s cake.

“Okay, so I know he wants banana filling and I’ll say to go with the dark chocolate cake.”

Rose tried to think of what design would best suit the Doctor.  Her initial thought was the TARDIS.  She had her old mobile with pictures she could use and although that was what she would have done if the festivities had only been close friends and family, she decided on something a bit more subtle.  People would still ask questions, but it would be a bit easier to explain than, “Oh, that’s the spaceship he and I used to travel in before we were left here by a Time Lord called the Doctor who looked exactly like the one I’m marrying today.”

“I’d like the cake to look like a fob watch with the words ‘Allons-y’ on it somehow.  He’s a bit obsessed with always being on time and ‘Allons-y’ is ‘Let’s Go’ in French.  He says it all the time.” The Doctor had told Rose about the time he was made human and how Martha was in charge of making sure that if anything happened, she would release his Time Lord self from a fob watch.

“Okay.  Got it.  Looks like we’re done here.  I’ll have these delivered to the mansion on Saturday.  It was a pleasure meeting both of you.”

“You too, Luann.  Thank you.”

As Rose walked to the door, Jackie reentered and went to the counter.  She was asking, “How much do I owe you?” as Rose and Donna made their way outside to the car.  The Doctor was in the back seat with the door closed.

“Next up, the stag and hen, eh?” Donna asked.

“The what?”

“The stag and hen.  I reckon Adam has a stag party planned for the Doctor and I suppose you’d want a hen party.”

“Hadn’t thought about that, really.  Maybe you can call Adam and see what he’s got planned.  If he hasn’t got anything planned, maybe we can do a night out or something.  The guys and the girls down the pub for drinks.  I don’t know if I fancy going out without him, ya know?  Feels sort of...wrong, I guess.”

“Yeah.  I’ll call Adam and see if he’s got anything set in stone.  If not, I’ll suggest what you’ve said.  Shaun and I had ours together too.”

“Okay, girls.  Let’s get going, yeah?  Supper’ll be soon.  Donna, sweetheart, do you want to invite your granddad and mum and Shaun ‘round for supper?  You are more than welcomed, “ Jackie said as she went to driver’s side.

“Sounds wonderful, Mrs. Tyler.  I’ll be right back.”

Donna walked off to the front of the SUV and returned a couple of minutes later.

“They’ll meet us there in an hour.  Thank you for the invitation.”

“My pleasure.  Let’s go home.”


	12. The Hen & Stag

Before they left for the hen and stag, Donna told Shaun everything about her health scare and about the Doctor and Rose and their travels. She felt better now that he knew, especially because there were no secrets between them now. She did, however, swear him to secrecy.

* * *

The night before the wedding, Donna, Shaun, Adam, Pete, Jackie, Jake, Rose, and the Doctor went to a pub down the street from Rose’s and the Doctor’s flat.  None of them had been there, but when Donna asked Adam what he had planned, Donna immediately suggested a night out with everyone and a relieved Adam agreed.  He had then confessed to Donna that he had forgotten about the preparations for a stag party.

“Thanks for saving my hide, Donna.  I’ve never been a best man before and as far as knowing what a straight man wants, if not strippers, I’m lost.  Neither of us were keen on the idea of strippers anyway.  Not the female variety for me, at least.”

“I don’t think Rose would have been too keen on the Doctor with strippers either.  He’s not the type anyway.”

“When I brought it up to him, he didn’t even know that was a thing blokes do at stags.  He seemed utterly disgusted.”

“Sounds like him, dudn’t it?  Can’t think to look at another female below the neck, can he?  Utter gentleman, that one.  Same as I got,” Donna said as Shaun walked up.

“Hello, Darling.  We were just talking about your gentlemanly quality of not looking at other females below the neck.”

“Why would I need to?  I got you, don’t I?”

“That you do.  Where’re the others then?”

“I think they went to the VIP room.  Bit of a mix up at first, but it’s been sorted.  Seems they wanted to put us in a room you hadn’t rented.  We’d be sharing and Jackie said we couldn’t, due to them being paid extra for a private room.  We now have the one you rented.”

“Let’s get to it then.”

Donna, Shaun and Adam entered the VIP room that Adam and Donna split the cost to rent out for the rest of the night.  It was a nice room with red suede couches and curtains with a little speaker playing soft jazz tunes above the entrance and complimentary wine, champagne and hard liquor for the rest of the evening.

Donna had invited Pete and Jackie, not thinking they’d make it, but were delighted when they agreed to attend.  Tony stayed with the sitter.  She had also brought up toasting at the party instead of at the wedding.  The reason being that the majority of the guests at the wedding didn’t even know Rose and the Doctor and everyone who would truly appreciate the toasts would be at the party.  Jackie agreed and so the toasts would be conducted tonight.

“I guess I’ll go first since toasting here was my idea.”  Everyone chuckled.  “First off, I want to start off by saying how happy I am that the Doctor got his love.  He was angry at both himself and the world after he lost you, Rose.  You helped to shape him into who he is today and for that, I’m grateful.  There were a lot of stories told to me by the Doctor.  One of his fondest memories was of the day he met you.  In the basement of a shop, of all places.  He can tell you many stories of love and loss, but you were the only stories he told about where his smile reached his eyes.

“Doctor, even know I just got these memories, I’m glad I started working for Rose.  She has helped me to find you, so we can can work on being best mates again.  I also found a mate in Rose, but really she’s become more like a sister.

“Even though I’m not the Donna you knew before, Doctor, I have all of her memories and I’m so happy we had the adventures we had, even though I had to stop you sometimes.  We will always share a bond.

“I’m so proud of you two.  Cheers!”

“My turn!”  Adam stood.  “I don’t have much to say, but the Doctor and I became fast mates.  He tells me that he knew someone who shared my face on his and Rose’s Earth and apparently he was a real screw up.  Also, he seemed to fancy Rose, which was futile, I’m sure.  These past couple of years have been great working with you and being your mate, Doctor.  Thank you for thinking of me when you asked me to be your best man and may the two of you always have each other!”

Jake stood.  “The night I met you it was obvious you two were meant for each other.  You had such chemistry, even if neither of you knew it yet.  That was also the night I lost Ricky, but having you two here to help put an end to the chaos that caused his death, was something that most people who have lost someone rarely gets.  Thank you for being there when you were needed, even if it was by accident and here’s to you two being happy forever!”

“I don’t know either of you well,” Shaun said as he stood, “but you have shown my Donna such great friendship and acceptance and for that, I’m thankful and hopeful that your days together will be plentiful. Also, your secret is safe with me.”

Pete stood up with a smile on his face. “Doctor, Rose,” he said as he looked at each them when he said their respective names, “your love story is a long and winding road.  You have been through losses, traumas, hopelessness and just when things seemed to have reached rock bottom, you found each other in the most unexpected way.  Much like I got Jackie.

“As only the few of you in this room know, my first wife died, the same night, actually that Jake’s Ricky died.  Our marriage wasn’t perfect or even equal most of the time, but I loved her.  Then she died and I didn’t have her anymore.  I didn’t have a child to carry on her memory.  Much the same happened with Jackie.  Her husband died when Rose was just a baby.  She was a single mother and a damn good one too by the looks of the way Rose turned out.  

“I know that I’m not that Pete and this Jackie’s not my first wife, but because of the Doctor and Rose, we were both able to find love again.  It wasn’t as if we picked up where we left off because we didn’t have the same memories and experiences.  It was brand new for both of us.  I realized after we got married that I wanted another child.  I say another child, because Rose became my daughter.  I, in no way, would think I could take her father’s place, but I don’t think of her as my stepdaughter.  She is my daughter Rose, just as Tony is my son.

“Now, as her father, I saw what not having the Doctor did to her.  I saw the pain, the loss, and finally, the motivation she put into finding the Doctor.  She spent countless months perfecting this technology that would bring her back to her one true love.  The last time she left us before she went to find the Doctor, Jackie had finally accepted the fact that Rose was determined and although she was scared to lose her forever, she had made the decision that morning to start attending the launches.  She wanted to see what her, our, daughter was doing.

“For months, Jackie had been in denial.  She didn’t understand why Rose was willing to put herself in danger.  Eventually she understood, but she was fearful of her launching and never returning.  Now, on that day, Jackie was there, but before she used the Cannon, she walked up to us and with controlled tears in her eyes, she looked at Jackie and me, hugged us both and said, ‘Mum, Dad, this is it.  I feel it.  Today is the day I find him and I’m never leaving him again.  I don’t care if I have to hijack the TARDIS and force him to listen to me, I am never going a day without seeing my Doctor again.

“‘Dad, thank you for being my dad.  I never really knew my dad, except for stories that mum would tell me about him and when I got to meet him briefly, but you have shown me the same love you show for Tony.  Thank you.

“‘Mum.  You are great mum.  Always puttin’ me first.  I hope you really really understand why I need to do this, even if it means you never see me again.  Just know that he is the love my life and I need to tell him that.  If he tells me he never wants to see me again, I’ll be back, but I can’t live my life with a what if.  I love him, Mum.’

“‘I know, Sweetheart.  I wish you didn’t, but I understand.  I love you, Rose, my beautiful daughter.’

“‘Love you too.’

“‘Love you, Dad.’

“‘Love you too.’

“I will forever have that conversation burned into my brain.  She was the happiest we’d seen her in months.  Jackie being Jackie, though, couldn’t help but to go after her and thankfully, it all worked out.  Now, I have the pleasure of being one of two to escort our beautiful daughter down the aisle to marry the love of her life.  There couldn’t have been a better outcome.  To my daughter and soon-to-be son-in-law!”

Jackie and Rose sniffled.  Everyone else had misty eyes, but it was Jackie’s turn.  She stood up and walked to place herself facing the Doctor and Rose so she could talk to them.

“I’ve known of the pair of you longer than anyone here.  As you recall, I wasn’t the happiest I’d ever been havin’ my one and only daughter go off with a man I didn’t know, but Rose is stubborn and she wanted to.  I missed her every second she was gone, but I took comfort in the fact that you’d care for her as good as I would.  It took me a while to get there, but when I did, I felt better about her taking off with you. You promised me you’d always bring her home and you never broke that promise.

“She always loved you, no matter how different you looked.  It was just you, Doctor.  The day that Pete spoke about was very hard on me, but I knew I’d see her again regardless of whether you told her you wanted to be with her or not.  You always understood how important we were to each other.  How important she was to me.  I knew you cared for her more than yourself and that was why I was rooting for you.  I knew her well-being would always be your number one priority.

“Rose, from the moment you were born, you were my pride and joy. You were the reason I got up in the morning and you gave me purpose, especially after your dad died.  We were all we had left in the world and so we took care of each other.

“Now, to the Doctor and Rose, you two will be getting married and hopefully, giving me some grandchildren and I can’t wait to finally be able to call the Doctor my son.  I couldn’t be prouder to say that.  Just remember, love each other always, regardless of any struggles you encounter.  Love is a wonderful thing and it is definitely worth waiting for. Love you both.”

Jackie took her seat next to Pete.

Rose and the Doctor stood up after a few seconds of whispering back and forth.

“The Doctor and I would like to thank everyone for coming and for the wonderful toasts.  Let’s dance!”

The rest of night was fairly quiet for a hen and stag.  Donna thought that everyone was maybe feeling a bit emotionally drained from the toasts.  The Doctor and Rose had been through hell, but they found each other and were finally getting their happily ever after.


	13. The Wedding of the Century

Rose spent the night at the Tyler mansion, since she and the Doctor decided to spend the night apart and have the first time they saw each other be when she was walking down the aisle to her groom.

Donna arrived there in the morning and both she and Jackie helped Rose get ready.

“So,” said Donna, “are you excited, nervous, what?”

“A little of both.”

“Oh, it’ll be brilliant though. Nothing bad will happen. It’s your wedding day,” Jackie said, as she entered Rose’s room.

“I hope so.”

“Just breath, Sweetheart. It will be great. You’ll see.”

* * *

The Doctor struggled to find sleep the night before he was to become Rose Tyler’s husband. He never thought he’d ever hold that title or that privilege. His Time Lord self would never have subjected her to a life like this. Not with him, at least.  He would have argued that it would be even harder for Rose to see him stay the same while she aged. He’d claim he could handle it, but that Rose would grow to resent him and his youthfulness.

_I’ll age with her_ , he thought. _This is brilliant_.

When he finally fell asleep, he had dreams of his other self. One dream in particular was him showing up in his brown suit, sonic in hand with 3D glasses. He congratulated them and wished them a long and happy life together. When he woke up, he smiled at the thought. Even though it was just a dream, he needed to feel that the other Doctor would be okay with this. It gave him peace.

He began getting ready as the other guys showed up at his flat. They all remained pretty quiet, getting dressed. The Doctor knew that no matter what happened, as long as he and Rose were Mr. and Mrs. by the end of the day, nothing else mattered.

He got ready and arrived at the mansion in record time. He’d never felt this ready to be in a tux, but this time was different. Minutes passed as the Doctor daydreamed of his other selves being present at this very human event. What would his previous selves think? The Doctor that had his face would understand. He’d put them together, but his other selves would probably grimace at the idea of this union. He could hear the big-eared one laughing at the thought of himself doing domestics.

“This is it, Doctor. Are you ready to wait for your bride?”

“Well, yes, of course.”

The Doctor took a final breath and walked out of the room. As he made his way to where the ceremony would be held, he looked at the crowd and saw everyone, happy and ready to witness this happy union. His only thought, besides the excitement of seeing Rose, was that something would go pear-shaped and there would be an alien attack.

Adam pat the Doctor on the back, “Here we go, Mate.”

“Yeah, here we go.”

* * *

The “Bridal Chorus” began its tune and Rose knew it was her cue to enter. Her left arm through her father’s and her right arm through her mother’s, they entered the room and all eyes were on Rose. The only thing Rose could see, however, was her handsome soon-to-be husband standing at the altar waiting to take her as his. She hadn’t been so excited in her entire life.

The Doctor took a few steps away from Adam and faced his back to the officiant’s podium. He took Rose’s hand and muttered, “You are so amazingly beautiful, Rose Tyler.”

“You’re not so bad yourself, Doctor. How about we do this thing?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Who gives this woman to be married to this man?” A familiar voice asked this question. Rose and the Doctor looked at each other, wide-eyed and they both hesitated to turn around. For the Doctor, it was in fear of the unexpected officiant about to marry them. They had gotten to know the guy quite well and this wasn’t his voice, but then the voice they did hear was familiar enough to ease their worry a bit.

They slowly turned around and at the same time, the Doctor and Rose yelled, “Jack?”

“Well, yeah. Like I’m going to let you two get married without getting my dance from the bride at the reception. It’s what we do, ya know? We dance. Don’t we, Rose?”

“But, how?” Rose asked, in shock.

“Well, I was talking to an old friend and he told me what was happening, so I made a few adjustments to this thing,” he said, pointing to his Vortex manipulator, “And here I am. Unfortunately, the only way to make a round trip was to set a timer, so at midnight, I turn back into a pumpkin, but at least I can get that dance. Oh, and your officiant had an unexpected emergency, so if you don’t mind…”

“No! Not at all,” they both said.

“Great. So, let’s get this show on the road, shall we?”

They took their places.

“Now, who gives this woman to be married to this man?”

“We do,” Jackie and Pete answered.

“Hi, Jackie,” Jack flirted.

“Jack! Not now,” the Doctor scolded.

“Right. Sorry.”

“Thank you all for joining us today for the union of two of my favorite people, Rose Tyler and Doctor John Smith. I’ve known these two since the beginning of their love affair, even if they weren’t aware that it had started yet. Everyone that knew them knew they were destined for this moment and it is my privilege and a great honour to be the one marrying them today. “Do you, John, take Rose as your wife, offering her your love and encouragement, your trust and respect, as together you create your future?”

“I do.”

“Do you, Rose, take the Doctor,” Jack cleared his throat, “John, as your husband, offering him your love and encouragement, your trust and respect, as together you create your future?”

“I do.”

“Great. Now the couple have prepared their own vows. John?”

“Rose, today I can stand here and say that I am marrying my partner, my companion, and the love of my life. You have been my constant and my anchor and I’m so lucky to finally be your husband. It seems like it’s been a long journey but we are finally here and it’s brilliant. I love you, Rose Tyler.”

Okay, Rose?”

“Doctor, since the day I met you, I loved you. You had a way of making me smile no matter what the situation was. I’ll never forget the day we had that conversation about getting a job, settling down, getting a house with doors and carpet. You never saw yourself in a life like that. You thought you’d be the loneliest wanderer who was surrounded by people. I’m glad you’re not terrified anymore and I’m happy we are, in fact, sharing it all. Thank you for being you.”

Jack faced the crowd. “The ring is an ancient symbol, so perfect and so simple. It is said that it is worn on the left ring finger because it will have a direct line to the heart. It has no beginning and no end. This symbol could not describe these two any better.”

Tony held up his pillow so the Doctor and Rose could take the rings.

“John, please repeat after me, ‘With this ring, I give you my love and life.’”

“With this ring, I give you my love and life,” the Doctor repeated, as he placed the band on Rose’s left ring finger.

“Rose, repeat after me, ‘With this ring, I give you my love and life.’”

“With this ring, I give you my love and life.”

The Doctor looked down as Rose placed the ring on his finger and he read the inscription, written in Gallifreyan. He knew he’d have to ask how she’d done it. How she knew what to say and how to say it in his native language. It read, “To planets and mortgages...together forever.”

Rose gave the Doctor her famous impish grin and mouthed to him, “I’ll explain later.”

“I don’t know about you guys, but I know some of us have waited a long time for this day to come. I think Jackie and I knew it would happen way before these two did, so it is my honour to say that I now pronounce you husband and wife. And my favorite part, you may now kiss your bride.”

The Doctor and Rose kissed for what felt like minutes. The audience was surprisingly quiet, although it was probably because they felt like the only ones there in that moment.

“Okay, you two. That’s enough for now,” Jack joked and the newlyweds chuckled. “Please face your guests. Ladies and gentleman, I present to you, Doctor and Mrs. John Smith!”

“Finally,” they both said in unison and everyone laughed.

“It’s time for a party!” Jack exclaimed.

* * *

Rose pulled the Doctor aside, away from their guests. “So, now that we’ve successfully got married and the only surprise we’ve gotten was Jack, I have a confession to make. When we were travelling together, as you know, I had no intention of ever leaving the TARDIS. I knew I wanted to travel with you forever, but our time got cut short. One time, when we went to a shop, I found your ring and I was planning on giving it to you, sort of like a friendship thing. I asked the TARDIS if she could engrave it for me and I told her what I wanted it to say. She did and I’ve kept it all these years. I never gave it to you because the time didn’t feel right.”

The Doctor smiled and kissed Rose, “I can’t believe you’re my wife now.”

“I know! It’s crazy. We better get to the party. I have to dance with Jack before he turns back into a pumpkin, but first, we need our first dance. Oh, come on,” she said, when the Doctor’s face changed, “the world doesn’t end ‘cause the Doctor dances.”

* * *

Rose took the Doctor’s hand and they made their way to the ballroom, where the reception was being held. As they entered, they heard Jack reannounce them as “Doctor and Mrs. John Smith,” and they took to the dance floor.

The band began playing, “Moonlight Serenade” by Glenn Miller. “This…,” the Doctor began.

“Is the first song we ever danced to. It seemed appropriate.”

“More than, I’d say. Perfect.”

Rose glanced at Jack and smiled. This had been their first song too, but she didn’t think Jack would mind. After all, getting the Doctor to dance was hard work, so a bit of sentimentality was called for in this case.

Jack walked over and whispered, “May I?”

“You may. I’m going to dance with Jackie. Wish me luck.”

“So, ‘Moonlight Serenade,’ huh?”

“Yeah. Hope you don’t mind. I wasn’t expecting you to be here, but it was sort of like you were us with this song playing, so I added it to the list. I met you and got the Doctor to dance. It was a night of adventure for sure.”

“Don’t mind at all. It’s nice to see you happy with him. I thought you’d be doomed. But look atcha. Married to the Doctor. Whoda thunk it, eh?”

“Yeah. I’m glad you’re here, Jack. Who was this ‘friend’ you were talking to?”

“Oh, some old shaman I met years back. I go to him sometimes and ask about you and the Doctor. He told me you were getting married and that I should attend. I didn’t have the heart to tell him you were on another Earth and that it was impossible. Then, I met this Doctor. A rebellious guy. He liked to play the guitar and didn’t really follow the same ‘don’t leave this Earth because it rips holes in the universe’ rules, so I asked him if we could supe up my Vortex manipulator. He said he could, but that if I wanted to come back, I’d have to set a timer so he could make sure I didn’t do anything really bad. I didn’t tell him where I was going or who I was going to see, but he helped me.”

“How is he?”

“He’s good. Got this really cute girl as his companion now. Clara, was her name. But he’s older. He looks to be in his fifties and Scottish. He’s seems content at least. Not as sad as before.”

“Good. I don’t want him knowing where you went, if you don’t mind keeping that a secret. Just let him go on the way he’s been doing.”

“Agreed.”

* * *

Hours went by and the party went on for another few hours. By 11:30, everyone had left. Jack danced with Jackie, the Doctor, Adam, Jake, Pete, and Donna. Staying true to himself, he managed to flirt with every one of them as well.

At five of midnight, Jack said, “Well, everyone. It’s time to go. Congratulations, you two. Thank you for letting me marry you. It’s was nice seeing and meeting you too. Donna, Jackie,” he held out his arms, waiting for a hug.

“It’s been real. Maybe I’ll see you all again soon.”

Jack vanished.

* * *

“It was nice seeing him again, wasn’t it?” Jackie said. “A big charmer, that one.”

“Yeah, I’m glad he was here,” Rose answered.

“Explain later?” The Doctor asked, walking up behind Rose and giving her a hug.

“Yeah. We better get going then. Thank you for the great wedding, Mum. Love you.”

“Love you too, Sweetheart. And you too, Son.”

“Thank you, Jackie and Pete. Everyone,” the Doctor said.

“Ready for Hawaii, Mrs. Tyler-Smith?”

“Yes, I am, Doctor Smith.”

* * *

THE END


End file.
